Mollema Takes Stage 17 of Vuelta

News & Results

09/12/2013| 0 comments
by Gerald Churchill

Mollema Takes Stage 17 of Vuelta

Bauke Mollema (Belkin) has salvaged his Vuelta and that of his team, which before today had not won a stage and was down to four riders. The Dutchman jumped away from the lead group in the last km to win Stage 17, a rolling, 189-km ride from Calahorra to Burgos, in 4:44:28. Edvald Boasson Hagen (Sky) finished second, and Maximiliano Richeze (Lampre-Merida) took third. Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) remains the red jersey.

Bauke Mollema (Belkin) has salvaged his Vuelta and that of his team, which before today had not won a stage and was down to four riders. The Dutchman jumped away from the lead group in the last km to win Stage 17, a rolling, 189-km ride from Calahorra to Burgos, in 4:44:28. Edvald Boasson Hagen (Sky) finished second, and Maximiliano Richeze (Lampre-Merida) took third. Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) remains the red jersey.

After a 21-rider, from-the-gun attack was reeled in, Adam Hansen (Lotto-Belisol) and Francisco Aramendia (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA) jumped clear at three km. The pair led the field by 7:05 at 18 km, at which point Lampre-Merida went to the front of the peloton. When the duo’s advantage went up to 8:10 at 50 km, Orica-GreenEdge joined the Italian squad at the front to peg the lead.

At 98 km, the escapees’ lead had fallen to 3:52. On the Category 3 Alto de Pradilla, Nico Sijmens (Cofidis) attacked out of the peloton. On the descent, the bunch reeled him in. With 60 km to go, the break led the bunch by 4:31.

With 30 km remaining and the gap between fugitives and peloton at 1:26, Saxo Bank-Tinkoff went to the front and started accelerating. Movistar and RadioShack-Leopard joined the Danish squad, and the field split. RadioShack-Leopard took command of the 40-strong lead group, which contained most of the heads of state. Domenico Pozzovivo (Ag2r-La Mondiale) and Thibaut Pinot (Francaise des Jeux), however, were caught off guard and would spend the rest of the stage chasing.

With 24.3 km left, the escapees’ advantage was 0:33. Saxo Bank-Tinkoff accelerated again, and Hansen and Aramendia were reeled in three km later.

With 15 km remaining, the lead group was 0:42 ahead of the second group, which was just ahead of a third group. The two chasing groups merged, but Saxo Bank-Tinkoff kept the pace high. Movistar, Katusha, and Astana helped with the pacemaking, and the lead group’s advantage grew.

With 10 km to go, the gap was 0:48. One and a half km later, Diego Ulissi (Lampre-Merida) attacked. RadioShack-Leopard led the pursuit. Egoi Martinez (Euskaltel-Euskadi) joined the Italian, but the bunch reeled them in with 4.6 km remaining. Tanel Kangert (Astana) countered, but the peloton nabbed him with three km left.

Sky and NetApp-Endura massed at the front at the one-km banner. Mollema jumped clear. The sprinters’ teams set out after the Belkin man, but he would not be caught. The Pozzovivo/Pinot group finished 1:31 behind Mollema.

Mollema knew that a last-km attack could succeed. “I knew there was a chance to attack in the final kilometer. With the wind…there was a small pack….So I waited until the last line to attack because there were sprinters. This was my only chance . I did not look back. It is a great satisfaction to win this.

“After the Tour, I knew it would be hard to make the general classification in the Vuelta and I realized in the early days that it would not be possible. I was not good enough for that and that's why I wanted to win a stage . I was dropped last Friday but it was also necessary that I save energy on the days when it was not possible. It paid off for me today.”

In the overall, Nibali leads Chris Horner (RadioShack-Leopard) by 0:28 and Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) by 1:14. Stage 18 will be the first of three consecutive mountain stages that will decide the 2013 Vuelta. The 186.5-km ride from Burgos to Pena Cabarga, will take the riders over three Category 3 ascents and a Category 2 climb before the first category climb to the finish. Who will win? Nibali? Horner? Who will wear the red jersey tomorrow night? Check in at www.roadcycling.com and find out!

Your comments
Your comments
sign up or login to post a comment