The third day of the Vuelta a España was one to remember for Bauke Mollema. Because of bad luck the leader of the Belkin Pro Cycling Team needed to find his way back to the peloton twice. With help from his teammates, he managed to do so on both occasions.

The extra efforts didn’t seem to take their toll on the Dutchman. Up the tough Mirador de Lobeira, Mollema placed sixth, three seconds down on winner Chris Horner (RadioShack-Leopard).

In the last sixty kilometres, the leader was hit by bad luck twice. First he was behind a crash that came in a bad moment, immediately afterwards echelons were formed. Then the Dutchman’s chain fell off in the final. Both times his teammates had to race hard to get their leader back in the bunch. “The guys did a fantastic job. I really need to thank them for that," a grateful Mollema said afterwards.

Teamwork

Stef Clement felt the first chase was needed because of a mistake by the team itself. He also praised the teamwork that was needed because of it. “You can say all is well because it ended well, but it was a tough day. The first time it was our own fault that we ended up chasing the bunch. We were trying to get to the front but were too late. Then we got caught up behind a crash with Bauke [Mollema]. Luckily, we had enough men to get him back in the peloton. Being at the right place at the right time is essential, but being all together is even more important.”

Solved it as a team

Robert Wagner shared Clement’s opinion. “Today’s main goal was to have the boys at the front of the peloton at the foot of the final climb. And despite all the stress we accomplished just that. The fact that we had to chase the bunch down twice made it extra tough, but we solved it as a team.”

Laurens ten Dam found himself on the right side during the hectic moments in Monday’s stage. He was presented in the front ranks of the peloton. Eventually he placed 21st, 13 seconds down on Horner. “Luckily, I was on the right side twice. I felt a little better than yesterday on the final climb. We can be satisfied with the first three days, Bauke [Mollema] and I have done a pretty good job.”