Mollema clinches 2nd overall in Coppi e Bartali

Bauke's satisfied as he finishes in 5th place in the final time trial

Bauke Mollema came to Italy to find back good sensations after he had been fighting an infection in the last weeks, including during Paris-Nice where he was left wondering what had happened to his early season form. Blood tests after Paris-Nice revealed poor blood values and Mollema was unable to train at his usual level in the past weeks.

It was not decided until the last minute that Mollema would take the start in Settimana Internazionale Coppi e Bartali and he came to the four-day race to find back his race form, not with any big expectations.

However, after claiming the stage win in the uphill finish of stage two, and successfully finishing with the reduced peloton in a windy and stressful stage three, Mollema found himself seven seconds behind race leader Diego Rosa (Sky).

The final day time trial was an opportunity for Mollema to take the overall win, but Rosa proved too strong in the 12.5-kilometer race against the clock, finishing in second place, 14 seconds quicker than Mollema.

After the race, Mollema commented:

The TT was good but not enough for the GC win. When I started this race it was all about getting the good feelings again and GC was not a big goal. I took a stage win and definitely found the good feelings again. I even came close to winning the GC, but Diego Rosa was a little too strong today. Anyway, very happy with the week!