Wilco Kelderman has long been seen as one of the brightest stage racing talents originating from the Netherlands, what certainly has been proved in his second year as a professional under the banner of Team Belkin. Even though the humble Dutchman claims to ride pressure-free while remaining in the shadow of more esteemed fellow countrymen Gesink and Mollema, after a very consistent season 22-year old rider is told to be handed a leadership of the Dutch squad in the 2014 Giro d’Italia and he aims to make the top 10 in several other major races of the upcoming season.

“I get a free role for the Giro and can ride for myself. I think a few other guys will ride for me too. I hope I can come close or be in the top 10,” he told Cyclingnews at his team’s training camp in Spain.

After a very consistent season, in which 22-year old Dutchman has won overall classification of Tour of Denmark with one stage victory taken in the process, as achieved significant results in several other Slagter, 5th in the tour the Romandie, and 7th in the Eneco Tour.

2013 year marked Kelderman’s Grand Tour debut, while he managed to finish 17th in the extraordinarily rough edition of Giro d’Italia, even though he was designated to ride in the support of Robert Gesink. Next year the young Dutchman will be handed an opportunity to lead his team during his second attempt to the Italian biggest stage race.

Although Kelderman speaks modestly about his climbing skills considering himself rather as a time trialist, and thus about his chances to stay in the contention on the toughest mountainous stages since rider like Quintana or Rodriguez are told to participate, he still believes finishing within top 10 in the GC isn’t beyond his reach.

“That would make me really happy. There will be lots of really good riders there with Quintana and maybe Rodriguez there but the field will be very strong.”

“The parcours will be hard and like this year there will be lots of hard stages in the final week. There are some really steep climbs in that final week, they might not be that good for me. I’m more a time trialist than a real climber. My climbing is getting better as I get older and increase my power but I’m not a climber like [Vicenzo] Nibali or [Joaquim] Rodriguez, and I like to ride climbs at one pace, at a stable tempo.”

Kelderman’s schedule would be slightly altered comparing to the one he followed throughout the passing season, while the Tour Down Under will be replaced by a start in the Tour of Algarve, with Paris-Nice, a possible start in one of the Ardennes Classics and the routine trip to Romandie thrown in. Belkin rider do not exclude the possibility of riding the Giro-Vuelta double, what would mark the next step on his way to become a strong stage racing contender in the future.

“I hope to just be consistent in the season with top 10s, maybe in races like Catalunya and Paris-Nice,” he said rather modestly.

“Each year I try and improve and the long-term plan is to be up there with the big riders in the coming years.”

Kelderman has long been hailed as the Dutch stage racing rising star and he never failed to live up to such high expectations, while he enjoyed a successful career since his junior days when he was already beating riders who were older and more experienced.  His win in the Tour Alsace in 2010 was backed up by wins in the Tour of Norway and Thüringen-Rundfahrt, U23, Germany in 2011, and his two seasons under the Belkins’ banner were signs of his further development, but the Dutchman claims to avoid any pressure while staying in the shadow of more experienced countrymen.

“I’ve not changed really. I like riding for results and want to become a top rider but for me the pressure isn’t a massive problem. Here are the team we’ve got Mollema and Gesink, guys like that, and they’re better than me so it means I’m more in their shadow.”

Kelderman is pleased with his Grand Tour debut, while he managed to finish within top 20 in the GC despite of riding in the support of Robert Gesink and having struggled in extremely tough conditions.

The Dutchman, turning 23 next year, has no intentions of making his debut at the Tour in 2014 where the Belkin captains are likely to be Bauke Mollema and Gesink. After the announcement, that 2015 edition of the race will start in the Utrecht in his home country, he would, however, love to make his maiden appearance one year later.

“This year’s Giro was a good result for me given that in the first two weeks I used up a lot of energy riding for Robert Gesink,” he told Cyclingnews.

“After the day Robert lost time, the day on the Galibier, that was a day I attacked and was the first day I could ride for myself. The day after I got in the early break as well.”

“If I’d been riding for myself then maybe I could have been around 15th but the gaps in the top 20 were pretty big. It was a case of riding my race but the guys like Nibali were too strong. Still in the last week I felt really good. After the day I was in the early break I still felt strong.”

“The toughest part was probably the mental aspect. The first two weeks flew by but the last week is just so taxing and especially with the weather. You have to stay focused all the time and that was the toughest part. The weather was tough but I’d had something similar at Catalunya in an earlier season. It was snowing and the weather was awful and so cold on the downhill. Everyone was screaming to slow down but everyone kept riding. So when it was bad at the Giro I could draw on that experience and knew I could do it.”

While Kelderman’s contract with Team Belkin expires with the end of 2014, Dutch cyclist do not rule out the possibility of riding in another World Tour outfit.

“Yeah of course. Maybe in the next few years I could ride for another team. I’ve not had any approaches yet. I want to first focus on the Giro.”