For the second day in a row, Bauke Mollema moved up a spot in the overall standings at the Tour de France as Tony Gallopin lost time in stage 12. The Belkin leader now hopes to continue his rise through the ranks in tomorrow's first stage in the Alps.

Without losing too much energy, Bauke Mollema moved up again in the general classification of the Tour de France. Because of Tony Gallopin’s (Lotto-Belisol) time loss in the 12th stage, the Dutchman is now eighth overall ahead of the Alps. Laurens ten Dam is 17th. 

Katusha’s Alexander Kristoff won the stage in Saint-Etienne, where Mollema placed 15th and was the best Belkin Pro Cycling TEAM rider. 

“Today went well,” said Mollema. “Giant-Shimano and Europcar held a high pace in order to reel in the breakaway, but that wasn’t very bad. It was very hot, however. I drank water all day and occasionally, I put an icepack on my neck to cool off. On the climbs, I opened my shirt to let in some fresh air.” 
 

Sep Vanmarcke crashed in the final of the stage, but fortunately didn’t suffer major damage.

“Some riders went down in front of me,” said the strong Belgian. “Greipel crashed and as I sat behind him, I went down, as well. Of course, it’s never nice to hit the tarmac, but I’m glad I don’t have anything serious. I’m just a bit scratched.” 
 

Merijn Zeeman would have liked a Belkin Pro Cycling TEAM rider to be part of the big breakaways even if the stage ended in a small group sprint. 

“We were hoping for a large group and had a number of guys that we would have liked to be in there. However, several sprint teams didn’t want that and kept the break in check. 

“Sep felt well enough to sprint in the final and we wanted to help him, but unfortunately, he crashed. The rolling parcours and the high temperatures made it a very tough day. The men were cooked afterwards.” 
 

The Belkin Pro Cycling TEAM holds the third place in team classification after stage 12.

“Yesterday, we saw that we have three riders who are among the top 25 climbers in the race,” explained Zeeman. “We won’t easily give up on this ranking. There are many stages left and we’ll keep a close eye on it.” 

The peloton has to tackle the first true mountains on Friday. After the Col de Palaquit (first category), the riders face a tough final climb to Chamrousse. The 18-kilometre climb averages 7.3%. 

“It’s the longest so far and a serious one,” said Mollema. “It’s going to be very hard. The GC riders face a tough challenge. I hope to be up there. Maybe I can move up in the overall again.”