Bauke Mollema won the Vuelta a España’s stage 17 today in Burgos with a successful attack in the final kilometre. Together with his Belkin Pro Cycling Team teammates David Tanner and Robert Wagner, the Dutchman stayed attentive when the pack split from the cross-winds and surprised the small first group with a short but powerful solo surge.

"I knew this was my chance,” Mollema said after completing his triumph. “I thought all day about an attack in the last kilometre. I knew the peloton would be small after the climb in the final kilometres. The crosswinds made up for an even smaller group, so that was perfect. Under the red flag the speed went down. This was my moment. I gave everything I had and suffered a lot but managed to hold on until the line.

“I came here with ambitions for a good classification result but after the first week I felt that that was going to be hard after a heavy Tour de France. From that moment on, I focused on a stage win. It’s fantastic that I’ve managed to pull it off.”

Mollema trails race leader Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) by 1.27'48"