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Mollema TT's to Basque Country Podium
9 квітня 2012
Rabobank rider Bauke Mollema turned in an impressive time trial in Saturday’s final stage of the Tour of the Basque Country stage race to secure a podium spot in the tough six-day Spanish WorldTour race.
On a wet, hilly 18.9km course, Mollema rode his Trinity Advanced SL time trial bike to a time of 28:54, one second faster than TT world champion Tony Martin of Germany. He started the day 11th in General Classification and ended on the podium.
“It was a scary parcourse,” Mollema said. "Narrow little streets, steep descents and the wet pavement to boot. It felt wonderful to ride over it without touching the brakes.”
Only Spaniard Sammy Sanchez could beat Mollema’s time, putting the Rabobank rider second on the stage and third overall in the race. His teammate Stef Clement, who for a while had the fastest TT time, ended up finishing seventh on the stage, making it two top-10s for the team.
For Mollema, who last year finished fourth in the Vuelta a España and fifth in the Tour de Suisse, it was confirmation that the time trial form he worked on in the off-season is showing improvement.
“I feel really good on the TT bike this year,” Mollema said. “My position is not much different from last year, it’s more fait in and on the bike. I sat comfortably and flowed through the bends.”
On a wet, hilly 18.9km course, Mollema rode his Trinity Advanced SL time trial bike to a time of 28:54, one second faster than TT world champion Tony Martin of Germany. He started the day 11th in General Classification and ended on the podium.
“It was a scary parcourse,” Mollema said. "Narrow little streets, steep descents and the wet pavement to boot. It felt wonderful to ride over it without touching the brakes.”
Only Spaniard Sammy Sanchez could beat Mollema’s time, putting the Rabobank rider second on the stage and third overall in the race. His teammate Stef Clement, who for a while had the fastest TT time, ended up finishing seventh on the stage, making it two top-10s for the team.
For Mollema, who last year finished fourth in the Vuelta a España and fifth in the Tour de Suisse, it was confirmation that the time trial form he worked on in the off-season is showing improvement.
“I feel really good on the TT bike this year,” Mollema said. “My position is not much different from last year, it’s more fait in and on the bike. I sat comfortably and flowed through the bends.”
