Having already finished in the top 10 in five of the last six Ardennes classics he has done, Bauke Mollema again confirmed his potential in the hilly one-day races when he finished 7th in today's Amstel Gold Race as the best home rider. Despite admitting not to have had the legs to follow Philippe Gilbert, he had a slight sense of disappointment after not being part of the battle for the podium spots.

Bauke Mollema finished seventh in the Amstel Gold Race today. Just like the rest of the pack, the Dutchman of the Belkin Pro Cycling TEAM was unable to answer Philippe Gilbert’s final move on the Cauberg. In the battle for the remaining spots, Mollema was able to place seventh. 

"The guys dropped me off perfectly at the foot of the Cauberg," said Mollema. "I started the climb in Gilbert’s wheel, but despite the fact that I had been able to save energy all day long thanks to my teammates, I just couldn’t follow. On top of the Cauberg, I unfortunately couldn’t join the first chase group, otherwise I could have gotten in the mix for the second place. It’s too bad that didn’t happen.” 

By placing seventh, Mollema did slightly better than in the past two editions when he finished tenth.The Dutchman didn’t really know what to think of his result, however, as he had already announced that he had hoped to finish in the top five. Right after the race he already looked forward to La Flèche Wallonne and Liège-Bastogne-Liège. 

“A seventh place isn’t very bad,” said Mollema. “I gave everything I had. On Wednesday and Sunday, I’ll get another chance. Those races suit me even better. I’ve worked hard to be good this week and it’s nice to see that my legs are fine.” 

With 45 kilometres to go, a small elite group broke free from the pack. Riders like Thomas Voeckler, Greg Van Avermaet and Jakob Fuglsang tried to catch the remainder of an early break. Paul Martens did some important teamwork by joining the group a little later. 

“That was a great move by Paul,” explained Sports Director Merijn Zeeman. “It gave us some control and a good position. If we wanted to win, this was the way to do it, with an attack. Paul is fast and he was the perfect rider for such a move.” 

Zeeman explained that he was satisfied with Mollema’s seventh place and the way it came.

“The boys worked very hard for Bauke. Until very late in the race we were at the front with six men. Bauke didn’t have to do anything that could have cost him energy. 

“A few men turned out to be slightly faster on the Cauberg. This seventh place meets our objective. We worked hard for an outlier, a podium finish, but this is a decent result.” 

The Belkin Pro Cycling TEAM lost an important rider after 80 kilometres of racing. David Tanner crashed and suffered a bruised knee. On Monday, the Australian will be further examined.