In the highly competitive cycling world, the smallest details can play a decisive role for a rider. Bauke Mollema who will join Trek for the 2015 season, knows that. Due to the change of scenery, the Dutchman is extra motivated and he is doing well, also because of the solution to a problem that has plagued him for years: he is allergic to rubber.

"Since I was a kid, I have always had a big problem with my hands since I was a kid," he told Biciciclismo. "Then the problem went away for a while and then it came back. Each year, it was particularly in the winter. I think it was because I touched the tubular while cleaning the bike or perhaps because I trained with gloves due to the cold and it left me with warm and sweaty hands. I've visited a lot of dermatologists throughout my life and in the end we ended up doing a test for allergies in a hospital. I was tested for thirty different things until they discovered that I am allergic to rubber," Mollema said.

He was diagnosed the problem in 2008. Since then, he has had to take some special precautions, some of them on the bike. The most notable is that it has prevented him from riding with handles on his brakes. "In its place, I have used more handlebar tape," he recalled. This year he hopes to get rid of that disadvantage ". Shimano has changed the compound and I can again ride with handles which is a good solution.

It is another change for the Dutchman who has been riding in Dutch teams in his entire career. “There are fourteen different nationalities here. Everyone is very open. There is a very good atmosphere among the riders and staff. I am very comfortable. It also serves well to improve my English. I am speaking English on a daily basis, even with Belgian and Dutch riders. It's great to be in an international team,”