For the second consecutive day, the victory was close for Fabio Felline.

It was a bitter pill for Felline to swallow when he crossed the finish line of the 200.5-kilometer La Drôme Classic four seconds behind Samuel Dumoulin (AG2R-La Mondiale) and his frustration showed as he slammed his fist to his handlebars. 

Third yesterday. Now second today.

Samuel Dumoulin launched the winning move at the bottom of the final short climb with just over two kilometers to go. He jumped out of an 8-man chase group, a come-from-behind surprise attack that caught the five leaders, which included Felline and Bauke Mollema, unaware as he blasted by.

The five men could do little as the Frenchman sprinted past, and by the time Felline collected himself and garnered a chase there was not enough real estate left.

“Bauke had worked so strong for me in the last kilometers,” said a clearly disappointed Felline. “He told me, ‘Fabio you are faster than me so I will work for you.’  And in the last climb it was a surprise because when I turned right for the climb Dumoulin passed me à bloc and he took 100 meters and for me it was impossible to get him back. He came from nowhere, and because it was a technical final, it was hard to chase him back. At the end it was a good result, second place, but I am not super happy – honestly, I searched only the victory.

"Today I finished on the podium after my third place yesterday. This is a good result. But I still miss a victory. I am happy with my fitness. This gives me the moral for the coming races. But a win, it's different to a place on the podium. I would have preferred a victory instead of the two podiums of course. But it's still a good weekend. 

"I want to thank the team, especially Bauke Mollema who did a great job for me in the finale today. In the end, we worked for the sprint, and he really made ​​an effort for me. Unfortunately, when Dumoulin attacked, it was impossible for me to take his wheel. I may have had legs to catch him, but he surprised me by coming from behind. He was very strong. In the last kilometer it was highly technical and it was impossible to close the fifty metres  that he had. 

"I hope to have the same shape for my next race, Strade Bianche. Then I should continue with a very full schedule: Milan-San Remo, Criterium International, Amstel Gold Race, Fleche Wallonne, Liège-Bastogne-Liège and the Giro."
 

The day began under cold, wet conditions and played out in typical fashion with a long pursuit of the day’s breakaway.  The up and down parcours and miserable weather made for punishing conditions, but a dedicated Trek Factory Racing team rallied above the misery and gave a display of what teamwork can achieve. 

When the race hit its crescendo on the last climbs and the breakaway nullified, Jasper Stuyven, Riccardo Zoidl and Bauke Mollema threw down stiff attacks resulting in a five-man lead group forming; both Felline and Mollema were part of the late split and once again everything seemed to be unfolding favorably for the pinstripes.

Behind, eight riders gave a feverish chase; it was a nail-biting pursuit for the ending five kilometers with only seven seconds separating the two groups, and the star of the exhilarating show was a selfless Bauke Mollema who pulled the front group in earnest, determined to keep the chase at bay and notch a deserved win for the team.

However, the last uphill spoiled the team’s hard work as Dumoulin exploded out of the chase group in a demonstration of speed and power no one could match.

“It was just great teamwork all day: Eugenio (Alafaci) was pulling to get the break back and in the finale first Riccardo attacked, then I went after Romain Bardet…but it all came back together again to five riders,” Mollema explained.  

“This race was really full-gas attacking all day,” he continued. “It was a pity that we didn’t win in the end because we did such a good team effort today. Fabio was strong, Jasper [Stuyven] was strong; Calvin [Watson] and Fumy [Beppu] helped in the early part...it’s really a shame we didn’t get the reward for our efforts.”

Although Felline was dissatisfied to fall short again of a win, he had nothing but praise for his teammates who motivated him to rise above the dismal weather and push towards victory when all seemed lost.

“Today was hard - cold and rain - and I was not feeling well at first. In fact, it crossed my mind many times to stop it was so cold,” exclaimed Felline. “But the team gave me a huge morale boost when I saw them all at the front working, and in the finale I was feeling much better. When you see your whole team working so hard, all day…my motivation increased and I was able to be there at the end thanks to them.”