Bauke Mollema (Rabobank) is set to ride his first Tour de France next July, and will happily do so in support of his more experienced teammate Robert Gesink, according to Wielerflits.nl. The climber from Groningen, in the north east of the Netherlands, has been with the Rabobank ProTour team since 2008 but came of age this year with twefth place overall in the Giro d’Italia.
Despite this strong performance in the general classification of what was a mountainous race Mollema, who turned 24 last week, confirmed that he will be riding the Tour as a mountain domestique for Robert Gesink.
“I’m not going there for a good overall ranking,” Mollema told the Associated Press, “I will be there to see that Robert has support in the mountains.”
Although he confirmed that he will not be aiming for the yellow jersey himself, there is one prize that he would like to take for himself. He would dearly love to emulalate his countrymen Joop, Zoetemelk, Hennie Kuiper, Peter Winnen, Steven Rooks and Gert-Jan Theunisse in the 1970s and ‘80s by winning on one of the most iconic summit finishes in the sport.
“To win on the stage to Alpe d’Huez strikes me as spectacular,” he said, “it is the Dutch mountain.”
After a promising start to his career in 2008, his 2009 was ruined by mononucleosis; despite his fine showing in the Giro, Mollema’s first big victory came in stage 6 of this year’s Tour of Poland.
“I really see that as my breakthrough,” he said. “I’ve always dreamed of being a good pro and last season was a good step towards achieving that goal.”
As the biggest race in the calendar, the Tour will be the focus of Mollema’s 2011 season. “I’m really looking forward to it,” he added. “It’s one for climbers: that’s me, although there are still some things that I need to improve.”