Like Joaquim Rodriguez and Alejandro Valverde, Bauke Mollema attempts to ride for the general classification in the Vuelta on the back of a successful Tour de France. So far he has not finished outside the top 12 on one single stage and states: "so far, so good". 

“I’m here for GC. I hope I have enough energy left after the Tour de France to remain competitive at the Vuelta till the end. Today, racing was less stressful but more boring than in the past three days. It was a hard parcour though! Always up and down. But there was nothing to do for GC so it was just a question of surviving", said Mollema.

Having secured a 4th place in the general classification in the 2011 edition of the Vuelta a España, he has proven that he has what it takes to battle for the GC. However, it remains unknown whether he can keep up his form for three weeks after riding a tough Tour in which he finished 6th. Last year, Chris Froome did the Tour-Vuelta double and showed that competing for three weeks in both races is an extremely difficult task.