When the season started, Martijn Keizer was without a team after his Vacansoleil team had folded but Belkin made him a late addition to the team in March. Today he paid back the confidence when he finished in the top 10 in the Tour de Romandie prologue.

Martijn Keizer surprised friend and foe today with a tenth place in the 5.6-kilometre prologue of the Tour de Romandie. The Dutchman of the Belkin Pro Cycling TEAM gave only nine seconds to winner Michael Kwiatkowski of Omega Pharma-QuickStep. 

“We’d previewed the course and so I knew that the last part was a false flat,” said Keizer. “I also noticed there would be a headwind, so I’d figured that I could win some time if I’d saved some energy for the final kilometre. It’s great that everything went according to plan.” 

Yet Keizer didn’t expect to finish tenth.

“Yeah, that was quite a surprise. I just spent three weeks at altitude in Tenerife and after Liège-Bastogne-Liège, this is only my second race. Moreover, this was my first time this year on the Bianchi Pico Crono. It turned out to be a very nice introduction. Earlier this year, I was without a team, it’s fantastic to be in the top ten of a WorldTour race now.” 

From tomorrow, Keizer hopes to help the team.

“This race is a very hard one and for me it’s mainly about getting ready for the Giro d' Italia. Tomorrow, we have to tackle the Simplonpass. I hope to be able to help Laurens ten Dam as long as possible. We want to finish high up in the overall with him.” 

Sports Director Erik Dekker was very pleased with Keizer’s performance.

“Martijn surprised us in a very positive way. A tenth place, in this field of riders is a big result.” 

Dekker said he was delighted with the performance of all of his riders.

“I’m really content with the commitment. I’ve told the boys that, as well. Everyone has given one hundred per cent. For example, Moreno Hofland was four seconds faster than Martijn at the intermediate point, it shows that the men did what they could within their abilities.” 

Laurens ten Dam finished 80th at 24 seconds from Kwiatkowski.

“Laurens rode a good time trial,” said Dekker. “Unfortunately, he lost quite some time in the final kilometre as he had started very enthusiasticly. Nevertheless, he is not a specialist but still managed to finish in the middle of the field. We can build on this.” 

The peloton takes on the 35-kilometre Simplonpass in tomorrow’s stage.

“It’s difficult to estimate what that will do to our riders, but the final is an interesting one. With Moreno Hofland, Jonathan Hivert and Paul Martens, we have several options. It’s going to be difficult, but we are really motivated to make something beautiful out of it.”