In a head-to-head fight with Jakob Fuglsang, Bauke Mollema successfully defended his sixth place Tour de France general classification Saturday. The Dutchman from the Belkin Pro Cycling Team and Astana's Dane passed the line together in the 20th stage to Annecy-Semnoz, Mollema in 16th place and the latter 17th.

As the race entered its third and final week, the Belkin duo of Laurens ten Dam and Bauke Mollema both entertained hopes of finishing in top 5 or maybe even on the podium. Those hopes were dashed, however. None the less they were both pleased with their overall positions and with the fact that the Tour is now over.

"I'm glad it's over and I'm happy the Tour de France is only three weeks long,” an exhausted ten Dam said yesterday. “I gave everything I had today; I really couldn't have gone any faster because my legs weren't good enough anymore. Even if I was higher up originally, I'm happy with my 13th place. I've worked a lot for Bauke and if someone told me on beforehand I would finish 13th, I would have quickly said, 'deal!'"

Bauke Mollema lost his place on the podium in the final week of the race and in the penultimate stage he was unable to follow the pace dictated by the top contenders. Nevertheless he was satisfied to cling on to the wheel of Fuglsang on the final climb.

"If my legs had been super, I would've gone with the big names, but the pace was so ridiculously high on the final climb. At the foot, I was already at my max. When I saw Fuglsang being dropped, I thought, that's my man. He probably wasn't happy with me sitting on his wheel but I think he understood. I'm very happy with my sixth place; it's the best result possible for me."