|
Bauke Mollema is not one of the biggest names in the UCI WorldTour, but he’s almost always in the front and in the action at the end of hilly races, and his consistent riding paid off Sunday as he soloed to victory in the 113th edition of Il Lombardia.
Mollema attacked during a lull on the second-to-last climb with 18 kilometers to go, taking a 20-second advantage over the Civiglio and held his lead through the descent and final ascent to take one of the most significant victories of his career.
“I was not one of the favorites for this race, but I have been feeling good the last two weeks, and just waiting for my moment, and luckily it was today,” said Mollema. “It’s very special to win a Monument, this is my first, I have never been close in my 16 years and 11th year in Lombardy, and now to win? Yeah, it’s really special.”
Mollema’s attack came after Trek-Segafredo played an aggressive race, first with Toms Skujins in the breakaway, and then when Skujins was eventually caught, Giulio Ciccone pushed the pace over the steep Sormano climb to make the first crucial selection of the 243-kilometer race.
“It was planned to be aggressive today again,” said Mollema. “The whole week in the Italian classics we were riding well already and didn’t win, but we were always in front in Emilia, Beghelli, Tre Valli and also Milan-Torino, so the motivation was really good in the team. We have a lot of good climbers for this race, and today it finally paid off with the win.”
All the favorites were together heading into the Civiglio climb, and Mollema made his move just after Alejandro Valverde’s attack was neutralized.
“It all came down to the Civiglio, and luckily I felt good and could attack,” continued Mollema. “I knew I had to go because when they were attacking, they were more explosive than me, so when they slowed down, I knew it was my moment to go.
“And when I knew I had 20 seconds, I knew I had a good chance; I knew the downhill really well and knew they were not going faster than me there. The last 10k was just full gas all the time. To win this race is unbelievable. I have felt good the whole week, and the team also has been riding well. Winning the Tour de France was also very special, but winning a Monument – yeah, I can’t believe it. It’s amazing.”
Photo credit: Getty Sport
|
