The official Great Bauke Mollema thread

[RattaKuningas]

Re:

By the way, if this is now Mollema's GT GC level and not a freak blip, next year is going to get extremely messy at Trek. Contador has clearly signed on for one last tilt at glory, with team backing. But if Mollema can reproduce this form, why would he accept being a super domestique for anyone?

Even if he is in the same team with Contador I think he can ride for GC as long as he is in contention. There is no reason why he shouldn't be able to do it.

 

[Zinoviev Letter]

Re: Re:

By the way, if this is now Mollema's GT GC level and not a freak blip, next year is going to get extremely messy at Trek. Contador has clearly signed on for one last tilt at glory, with team backing. But if Mollema can reproduce this form, why would he accept being a super domestique for anyone?

Even if he is in the same team with Contador I think he can ride for GC as long as he is in contention. There is no reason why he shouldn't be able to do it.

Sure, lots of teams try that but that almost inevitably leads to tension. More than one leader is really only a good idea for teams with relatively minor ambitions. If you have two guys who legitimately think they can win the Tour on the other hand...

 

[Anderis]

Maybe they can persuade Mollema to go and try to win the Giro?

Bauke stands a good chance to have more TdF podium finishes than Contador in the last 5 years after this year's Tour. At the very worst, they will be equal.

 

[Red Rick]

He almost ninja'ing himself to 2nd place in Paris. Zubeldia approves. If only the Dutch would stop hyping him like crazy, and if he wouldn't be a running forum gag, we would barely have noticed him

 

[Anderis]

Re:

If only the Dutch would stop hyping him like crazy, and if he wouldn't be a running forum gag, we would barely have noticed him

You=the ones that didn't bother to watch the last 2 mountain stages?

 

[Zinoviev Letter]

Re:

He almost ninja'ing himself to 2nd place in Paris. Zubeldia approves. If only the Dutch would stop hyping him like crazy, and if he wouldn't be a running forum gag, we would barely have noticed him

I have often criticised Mollema for his sub-Zubeldia approach to racing, but he simply has not been riding in that manner in this Tour. At all. He has attacked the GC group more often in the last two mountain stages than he had done in his whole prior career.

 

[Red Rick]

Correction, he was ninja'ing correctly until halfway Arcalis. He then attacked twice and got dropped after. Zubeldia told him that's now how to not get noticed, so Mollema didn't single handedly reel in the late attack of Froome and Sagan the day before yesterday. On the Ventoux, he figured counterattacking was somewhat acceptable, if you do it quickly enough when they're showing the breakaway. He got caught however, and Zubeldia hasn't been pleased since.

 

[damian13ster]

So he was active on all mountain stages? Is that what you are trying to say?

 

[Cance > TheRest]

Since I have lost the general interest in the GC race at this point, I'm just going to cheer for Bauke. He is on the right team.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

It's not the first time Mollema has been as this level. Tour 2013 up until illness was the same. And in the Vuelta where Cobo won and Froome had his breakthrough he was 4th and pretty close to that level as well.

If he can hold it together he might just end up on the podium. But I expect a strong Quintana in the 3rd week, no matter how weak he looked before. And Mollema is no certainty in 3 weeks.

 

[Poursuivant]

Re:

It's not the first time Mollema has been as this level. Tour 2013 up until illness was the same. And in the Vuelta where Cobo won and Froome had his breakthrough he was 4th and pretty close to that level as well.

If he can hold it together he might just end up on the podium. But I expect a strong Quintana in the 3rd week, no matter how weak he looked before. And Mollema is no certainty in 3 weeks.

I remember him being strong in those GT's you mention, but I don't remember him being this strong. Has a fantastic chance of a podium now, minimum.

 

[Zinoviev Letter]

Re: Re:

It's not the first time Mollema has been as this level. Tour 2013 up until illness was the same. And in the Vuelta where Cobo won and Froome had his breakthrough he was 4th and pretty close to that level as well.

If he can hold it together he might just end up on the podium. But I expect a strong Quintana in the 3rd week, no matter how weak he looked before. And Mollema is no certainty in 3 weeks.

I remember him being strong in those GT's you mention, but I don't remember him being this strong. Has a fantastic chance of a podium now, minimum.

Yes, coming fourth in the Vuelta is simply not this level. This is his best ever.

 

[PremierAndrew]

Re: Re:

It's not the first time Mollema has been as this level. Tour 2013 up until illness was the same. And in the Vuelta where Cobo won and Froome had his breakthrough he was 4th and pretty close to that level as well.

He was beaten by two nobodies at the time and Wiggins who had broken his collarbone a few weeks earlier in that Vuelta

His level in this Tour is a substantial improvement on that

 

[Anderis]

I don't think his performance so far in this Tour is clearly better than his level from first half of the 2013 Tour. Then he finished 4th on Ax 3 Domaines (3rd among GC riders), followed by beating all GC riders apart from Froome on a pancake flat ITT and finishing 3rd on echelons stage (just behind Cavendish and Sagan). It's a shame he got ill from there, because he had a chance of a podium finish there.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

He is prone to getting ill in TDF though. Last year was the opposite. He struggled and was pretty weak the first mountain stages, but had a relatively strong end to the tour.

Might this be the Tour he can combine a strong beginning and a strong end, he'll have a shot at podium. It will be tough however. I still expect a strong Quintana no matter how 'weak' he appeared before. And there are some notoriously renowned 'strong 3rd week' riders behind like Aru, Rodriguez who could still go all out and throw the GC apart

 

[movingtarget]

I think there will be more changes in the top 10. The third week is always the tester for riders who have never won a grand tour but Mollema has to be happy with his form. I don't see the likes of Aru and Quintana making much time in the third week. Not this year and Froome has not had to do much in the mountains so far so he should be relatively fresh compared to other years. Podium still up for grabs for a long time yet.

 

[liamito]

Re:

He is prone to getting ill in TDF though. Last year was the opposite. He struggled and was pretty weak the first mountain stages, but had a relatively strong end to the tour.

Might this be the Tour he can combine a strong beginning and a strong end, he'll have a shot at podium. It will be tough however. I still expect a strong Quintana no matter how 'weak' he appeared before. And there are some notoriously renowned 'strong 3rd week' riders behind like Aru, Rodriguez who could still go all out and throw the GC apart

Just like last year he was rubbish in Dauphiné. In 2013 he was already flying in TdS.

 

[SoigneurNL]

He's Looking really strong but let's not forget he was on a podium place in the TdF before and cracked, idem with his Vuelta debut. The third week seems to be his weakest in general. U hope he can sustain his current form, podium should be possible for him then

 

[Bardamu]

His very strong time trial of yesterday makes me think he will not crack in the third week as he normally does.

 

[Zinoviev Letter]

It is genuinely hilarious that the Dutch have gone from a nation with seventy thousand no hope GC riders to having no less than three GC men who can legitimately think of themselves as potential Grand Tour winners in the space of ten months. Surely one of them has to bring it home eventually. (Sorry Dutchies, I know this probably seems like a malicious attempt to bring yet more bad luck down on your boys).

 

[Sciocco]

Re:

It is genuinely hilarious that the Dutch have gone from a nation with seventy thousand no hope GC riders to having no less than three GC men who can legitimately think of themselves as potential Grand Tour winners in the space of ten months. Surely one of them has to bring it home eventually. (Sorry Dutchies, I know this probably seems like a malicious attempt to bring yet more bad luck down on your boys).

Crushweak, Major Tom, ________

??

 

[PremierAndrew]

Re: Re:

It is genuinely hilarious that the Dutch have gone from a nation with seventy thousand no hope GC riders to having no less than three GC men who can legitimately think of themselves as potential Grand Tour winners in the space of ten months. Surely one of them has to bring it home eventually. (Sorry Dutchies, I know this probably seems like a malicious attempt to bring yet more bad luck down on your boys).

Crushweak, Major Tom, ________

??

Let's wait for his performances in the 3rd week, but on this form, Mollema wouldn't have been 3 minutes down on Kruijswijk when he crashed.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

He seems at ease. Also today he says he was never in any sort of trouble. Hope he can keep this form. Still a big question mark.

 

[Zinoviev Letter]

I just want to know in advance what Dutch rider will suddenly become a legitimate contender at this year's Vuelta. The rule is one new contender per GT now, right?

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

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