Far from home in Adelaide, Bauke Mollema (37) is preparing for his first Tour Down Under. The experienced Groningen native looks great in Australia, but in his old age he still has to prove himself.
After years of serving as a classification rider and stage hijacker, a new role as a super servant is emerging.
Bauke Mollema saw almost the entire world during his career, but he rarely came across such beautiful surroundings as that of Adelaide in Australia. “I’ve already seen the first kangaroo pass by,” said an excited voice from the other side of the world. “This is really something different. In the middle of summer too. Today even 35 degrees. Really warm on the bike. It seems to be a few degrees less warm in the coming week, but it is still a big transition from cold Europe.”
He likes it in Adelaide. “I think a city of a million inhabitants, but very compact. You can leave the city in ten minutes by bike and a few traffic lights. Then it becomes very quiet. The first day we cycled along the beach and the following days we went into the hills. Beautiful climbs there and lots of forest. I also walked into the shopping street. There is a good atmosphere, everyone is relaxed. That suits me fine.”
Attacked by a bird
How different things were during his only other Australian adventure, a year and a half ago at the World Cup in Wollongong. Mollema had little success and was also attacked twice by a bird. “That was really in a different part of Australia,” the Lidl-Trek driver remembers. “The weather was not as nice then as it is now. When I look around here, I think I wish I had gone to the Tour Down Under sooner. We still have to start, but I already think it’s a nice trip.”
Mollema is audibly feeling good. Not only has he had a good winter on the bike, the two-time Tour de France stage winner is also impressing his followers these days when it comes to running. On Instagram this week, Mollema shared a screenshot showing that he had trimmed 11.10 kilometers at a pace of an average of 3.34 minutes per kilometer. That is an average speed of no less than 16.82 kilometers per hour.
New shoes
“I enjoy doing it,” says Mollema. “It’s becoming more and more fanatical and faster. I used to run a lot, participate in 4 Miles and so on, but in the 20 years after that I did virtually nothing anymore. I tried it again in the meantime, but then I got injuries. My feet and Achilles tendon are bothering me. Since I got special running shoes, things have gotten better. I do have a talent for running and I also have the build for it. The plan is to run another marathon. Maybe half one to start next winter. I also ran 16 kilometers on Ameland a few months ago.”
But for now it’s still cycling that counts. Last year Mollema had a very mediocre season, but now his legs feel reborn, the veteran has a new trainer who provides refreshment and he is eagerly looking forward to a new cycling year.
A year older
“The feeling is very good, but I find it difficult to estimate where I am now. I have become another year older. If I had this feeling ten years ago, I would just be sure that I would be in the top 10, but I really don’t know that now. The competitors, especially the young men, all ride very fast these days. No match is easy anymore. Everyone will be fully prepared.”
Maybe it’s up or Down Under for Mollema. At Lidl-Trek they want to participate with the big teams this season. For this purpose, two new leaders were brought in: Tao Geoghegan Hart and Jonathan Milan. After Mollema’s years as a classification rider and stage hijacker, sports director Steven de Jongh sees a new role as a super helper for him, but that is not a given. It is up to the Groningen player, who is still under contract for three years, to prove how much he can still be of value to the team.
No illusions
“That doesn’t really depend on Tour Down Under, but I want to prove that later in Paris-Nice and the Walloon classics,” he said aggressively. “My goal is to make it to the Tour selection again. I will have to have a super high level. I have to show that I can fulfill that role well. I no longer have to have any illusions that I can still go for my own opportunities in the most important matches. I’ll just have to support those guys. I’m looking forward to that too. The classics and stage races such as Paris-Nice and Switzerland are still very nice races to ride.”
In the meantime, he continues to enjoy and be amazed, like on Thursday, when he suddenly saw a man wearing an FC Groningen shirt in the audience at the team presentation in Adelaide. “Of course I noticed that straight away,” says Mollema, laughing. “I thought: hey, that’s special. When we got off stage I had a chat with him. That man had emigrated to Australia 14 years ago and lives in the middle of Adelaide. He is originally from Aduard. We had our picture taken together. So it won’t be because of the support here.”