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Bauke Mollema targets Olympic road race

2nd August 2016

Bauke Mollema at the 2015 Tour team presentation, by bert de boer, Licence CC BY 2.0

Bauke Mollema got on the plane for Rio with a smile on his face, after winning the Clásica San Sebastián on Saturday 30th July 2016, according to NOS.nl.

'It's good for the morale of course, when a week before the Olympic Games, you win a big race,' he said.

According to Mollema, the Olympic road race course has many similarities with the Basque one-day Classic. 'There are resemblances. I hope that's a good sign for Saturday,' said the Dutchman, talking to NOS in the Rio sunshine before a reconnaissance of the first part of the Olympic course with his teammates Wout Poels, Tom Dumoulin, and Steven Kruijswijk.

'It's really a course for climbers, because it's hard, with a few kilometres at 10%. Even the first loop isn't easy, with cobbles, and a short, steep climb.'

Nevertheless, the Olympic road race will unfold differently to other one-day races, predicts Mollema, because the national teams are made up of four or five riders, rather than the eight or nine which are usual in professional races. 'That's crazy. It'll change the race, and there'll be less control. But it is still important to try to control the race, even though you're only a team of four.'

Mollema is looking forward to it. 'I'm very happy to be here. These are my first Games, and I've always dreamed of participating in the Olympics.'

Hello Rio!! Yesterday we arrived in the Olympic Village, today an easy training on the course. #TeamNL pic.twitter.com/ZeR72mAUhc

— Bauke Mollema (@BaukeMollema) August 1, 2016

Clásica San Sebastián

Yess!!! #SanSebastian pic.twitter.com/NVvka7ATOs

— Bauke Mollema (@BaukeMollema) July 30, 2016

Commenting on Saturday, after winning the Clásica San Sebastián, Mollema said, 'This was the ideal scenario. I had done a good recon of the course, and I'd ridden the descent three times. I knew that it was a good place to go.'

Speaking of the event, he reflected, 'It's one of my favourite races of the year. I've tried to look at it as a one-off event, and I'm very happy that I've been able to turn things around today, after the disappointment of the last weeks. [Mollema let a podium place slip after a fall on Stage 19 of the Tour de France 2016]. That disappointment is of course not completely gone. It's not easy to forget it, but in the last few days, I've re-set for this race, and for the Olympic Games. I'm still in good form, and I hope I can take that through to Rio.'

These are the closing kilometres of the Clásica San Sebastián:

Tom Boonen wins RideLondon 2016

Tom Boonen at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad 2016, by JGH Jähnick, Licence CC BY-SA 3.0

The RideLondon 2016 Classic came down to a bunch sprint on The Mall, and it was won by Tom Boonen of Etixx Quick-Step. Read about Boonen wins RideLondon 2016.

Tom Dumoulin to ride Olympic ITT despite wrist break

28th July 2016

Tom Dumoulin during a time trial at the 2015 Paris-Nice, by denismenchov08, Licence CC BY-SA 4.0

Tom Dumoulin will ride the individual time trial, and perhaps the road race, at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio. When he abandoned the Tour de France 2016 on Stage 19, it seemed that his participation in the Games was in doubt, but it was a clean wrist break which is healing well, and he could be pain-free and able to ride without a brace in Rio. Read about Tom Dumoulin to ride Olympic ITT.