Bauke Mollema will need few days to find his good legs: "I tried to train well this summer and it didn't quite work out"
Cycling
Bauke Mollema returns to Spanish grand tour for the first time since 2018. The experienced Dutchman used to skip Vuelta in favour of doing Giro-Tour double while focusing on autumn classics including Giro di Lombardia - the race he won himself in 2019. However since Mollema wasn't selected for Tour de France, an adjustment to his routine had to take place.
In an interview with In de Leiderstrui, Mollema comments on how hard it was to miss out on Tour de France for the first time since 2010. "Well, the first days I found it difficult to watch, especially that start in the Basque Country I would have liked to have been there. After that I saw quite a few rides, as an enthusiast and in the hope that the team did well."
"I tried to train well this summer and it didn't quite work out. The last month hasn't been great and the form has been better than it is now... I was a bit sick last week and the training sessions have not been optimal in recent weeks. And then there were some other reasons, so I won't be in great shape for the first few days. Hopefully I can grow into it a bit during the race," Mollema unveils about his preparation for the race.
His role is unclear as far. "We haven't spoken in detail yet, not even about whether Juanpé is going for a classification. We will have that discussion on Friday, but we have Edward Theuns with us for the sprints and he is riding very well and is ready. Juanpé feels good after a lesser Tour and he wants to test how good he is on the third day in Andorra. From there we see what happens."
Read also
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- It goes without saying that all the readers on this website are keen cycling fans and cyclists. We may have differing opinions on Lance Armstrong, but that is coloured by our knowledge of cycling history. However, for all the non-cycling public, all they know is Lance Armstrong and his story of cheating. The vast majority of the world do not even remember Eddy Merckyx and many don't know who Pogacar and Vingegaard are. Therefore, it is the truth that Lance Armstrong has been very damaging for our beloved sport of cycling. It even makes us cycling fans question the current generation of cyclists, which is so sad that we don't get to truly enjoy the sport any more because there will always be some doubts in the back of our minds.Pogboom29-12-2024
- Yes it is, 7.6% average, about 13% max.awp28-12-2024
- Puy de Dome was pretty steepvappaxbipmv28-12-2024
- I would pick billionaires next time.
ChoppyWarburton28-12-2024 - It is so awesome that Voit called attention to Voss' accomplishments. It is simply the fact of her remarkable ability that puts her in the class of Merckx
TRjens28-12-2024 - On the steeper stuff Jonas is a bit more efficient. He's dropped Tadej going back to the 2021 Tour on one occasion.awp28-12-2024
- i don’t care when he started doping. i really don’t even care THAT he started doping. and i certainly don’t care that he lied about doping. the history of cycling is chock-full of dopers, from charly gaul to merckx to kelly to contador and blah blah blah. and they ALL lied about it. but i really DO CARE that he treated everyone like AT BEST like expendable cogs in his winning machine, and at WORST like mortal enemies to be DESTROYED. it’s all that business that makes me dislike him. and i may be a suspicious and untrusting soul, but i really don’t trust that he’s changed in that way. that said, I’M certainly no one to give advice about moral virtue or from whom to seek it.OCexile28-12-2024
- Well said ! Kudos to you for bringing this up!frieders328-12-2024
- If he avoids losing any time to his competitors he would win every single race.Sweep28-12-2024
- He did nothing well without cheating. He was doping long before he entered professional cycling.Sweep28-12-2024