Bauke Mollema waved his arms in celebration as he crossed the line solo in le Puy-en-Velay, savouring his first ever Tour de France victory, having fended off the chase of his former breakaway companions for a full 30 kilometers.
The Dutchman has often targeted the overall classification at the Tour de France, suffering and fighting for every second during the three weeks. This time, after targeting the Giro d'Italia, he is racing the Tour both in support of Alberto Contador and with an eye on stage wins. He took full advantage of his freedom on stage 15 to earn himself and his team a first success in this year's race.
It has been a lean season for Trek-Segafredo so far, especially with Contador struggling to be an overall contender at the Tour. Mollema's solo attack in the finale gave the Dutchman his biggest win of his career and lifted morale in the team.
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"I've been close a few times but never won a stage. It's amazing, this is what you do all the work for and train so hard. It's great to do it in the Tour de France, the biggest race and a special race for me."
Mollema attacked over the top of the final climb with 31 to go. It was an audacious but confident attack, and he time trialed to victory.
"I looked back and saw I had a small gap, so I went for it. It was a really hard final 30km, I don't think I've ever done 30km alone like that, even as an amateur," he said.
All in for the stage victory
Back chasing the GC in the 2018 Tour de France
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