«I'm super happy with the good start to this season». Bauke Mollema's face is the portrait of happiness and serenity. You can feel it even behind the mask. The lanky Dutchman scored his second victory of the season (he had won a stage at the Tour des Alpes Maritimes) and, above all, proved to be the strongest climber. Tactically brilliant, calm and confident... he's already in top form.
Compared to the past, it also seems more responsive, a nice anomaly as the years go by.
Toast with orange juice
Just after the arrival, which he enjoyed greatly by raising his arms to the sky for many seconds, Mollema asks for a can of orange juice. They immediately contact him on the Rai microphones, but he declines. He "pedals" for a few more seconds. Two hundred, three hundred meters, he lets his bike roll, waiting for the others to arrive, and he savors this victory. Meanwhile, his pursuers also arrive, strong from their sprint, and they pounce on him. He exchanges high fives with Ciccone.
«We played a good team game – says Mollema – There were three of us before the final climb and then two. It's a great victory for the team. I really liked this route and I started with the intention of doing well. I believed it."
Mollema climber…
And today the 57th Laigueglia Trophy He decided it entirely himself. The key move was not so much the moment of the attack, that is, the penultimate time we climbed Capo Mele, but rather having repelled Bernal towards Colla Micheri, the hardest climb, a few kilometers before.
In that moment Bauke showed to be the strongest on the climb and "made the Colombian ace of the race lose" Ineos-Greandiers who tried in every way. ciccone He couldn't quite close on Egan. At that point, Mollema took over. He leapfrogged everyone in the peloton and within a few hundred meters had Bernal and Champoussin in his sights, closing the gap. When you're the protagonist of these moves, it's because your legs are full. And the rider knows it.
Long distance and downhill racer
And once at the bottom of the descent, given that in that group of 7-8 riders there were two of the Trek-Segafredo, precisely Mollema and Ciccone, Bauke tried. At that point, the rouleur in him emerged. He relaxed on the bike: hands on the levers, elbows at 90 degrees, butt at the tip of the saddle, and a time trialist's gear. The lead becomes 5 seconds, then 7, 12, 16… You won't get a lead like that again.
The terrain at that point was in his favor. A wide road as they watched him run away (and no one pulling), and then sharp bends that hid him.
And speaking of curves. He must have worked on them quite a bit. Maybe it's also due to the materials, but since Trek-Segafredo relied on the advice of a downhiller last year to improve trajectories and braking with disc brakes, things have improved. Bauke, we remind you Tours of Italy A few years ago, he wasn't a dragon when the road was pounding downhill. Today, however, he made the difference, even descending from Colla Micheri. But then again, we've said it a thousand times: this is modern cycling, where nothing is left to chance.
