Bauke Mollema back in Amstel Gold Race top 10 after 10 years: "It's nice that I could be at the front again"

Bauke Mollema finished in the top 10 of Amstel Gold Race for the first time since 2014. Ten years ago, the 37-year-old Dutchman was seventh. Just like today. The Lidl-Trek rider looked back at the race with NOS afterwards.

However things didn't always seem so great to Mollema: "I rode a crazy race today. I couldn't get to the front and kept losing places on the descents. We then went to the steep climb fifty kilometers from the finish. Then I really thought: it's over, I'm getting dropped."

"But somehow I was able to keep going. I really didn't have the explosiveness, but apparently the guys around me were getting tired. At the top of the Eyserbosweg I followed a good attack and suddenly I was in the lead. That was actually a perfect group."

Read also

“The possibility now is much, much greater" - Sean Kelly backs Tadej Pogacar to take historic Giro d'Italia/Tour de France double

"I actually still felt good in the final. I could keep going, but I didn't have the explosiveness. When they started on top of the Geulhemmerberg I was just in a small gap. That's a shame. If you just go along with it, things can go either way in such a final."

The 37-year-old Dutchman ultimately had to settle for seventh place at the finish, but he can certainly live with that. "I am happy with this good result. It's been a while, ten years now. This spring didn't always go great, but I already felt better in the last few weeks. It's nice that I can now participate again."

Read also

VIDEO: Dramatic finale to Amstel Gold Race Ladies 2024 as Marianne Vos punishes Lorena Wiebes' premature celebration

“I certainly didn't have the legs of the past few weeks" - Mathieu van der Poel absent from Amstel Gold Race finale