Riders competing at the 2022 road World Championships in Wollongong, Australia will be thanking helmet sponsors for their top of the range lids that they have the privilege of wearing during racing in the coming days. 

First and foremost to protect them from serious head injury in the event of a crash, but also to help to ward off potential dive bombing magpies on the roads of Wollongong. 

Wollongong is home to a large population of the birds and locals refer to the start of the current season as "swooping season" as the birds clatter down into cyclists, pedestrians and anyone they set eyes on in a bid to protect their young. 

Of course, this happens to be just in time for multitudes of world class cyclists using the local roads to train and then compete. 

Bauke Mollema has become the latest rider to share footage on social media of himself and other Dutch riders coming under attack from the birds on a group training ride. 

Other riders currently out in Wollongong have also come under attack recently include recently crowned Vuelta a España champion Remco Evenepoel who experienced being stalked by a magpie ahead of last weekend’s elite men's time trial. 

Evenepoel said: “A fairly large bird came very close and it just kept following me. It was terrifying. But that's Australia, apparently. I hope it's the only time it happens, but I am afraid of it."

In the footage of Mollema being attacked, a bird clearly swoops down using its feet to collide with the Dutch rider's head, something which is said to be very common in the local area at this time of year. 

However, the dangers from the bird attacks have very occasionally ended badly. In extreme cases the consequences even proved to be fatal. 

In 2019 a man was killed after crashing his bike when attempting to avoid a swooping magpie in the city. 

Paul Partland, a local vet in Wollongong recently shared some advice to the general public as well as cyclists on how to ward off the pesky attackers. 

He said: “Swooping birds tend to target people that are by themselves and also people that are moving in very fast ways. Unfortunately, I don't think we're going to slow down the cyclists in their race to take a little side breather as the birds swoop by.

"As we're watching it as pedestrians and spectators we should be walking rather than running."

So far so good, the magpies have largely stayed away from actual events with no riders reporting being attacked during a race. 

Moving forward, the likes of Julian Alaphilippe will be keeping his fingers crossed that if the attacks come in the men’s elite road race next weekend, they are from his rivals for the rainbow bands and not from any aerial attackers. 

All 165 riders at the Tour de France tested negative for Covid after testing performed on Sunday evening

The rest day covid tests were performed after the finish of stage nine, and were administered by the UCI and the Tour's organisers, the ASO.

A statement from the UCI confirmed the news on Monday morning, saying that all tests had come back as negative. 

On Sunday, riders were immediately tested as they made their way back from the stage finish, a stage which was won by Bob Jungels.

The statement reads: “In accordance with the "Rules for the organisation of road cycling competitions in the context of the coronavirus pandemic" established by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) and recently updated for the Grand Tours, all riders participating in the Tour de France were tested on the evening of 10 July.

"All tests were negative.”

With the statement there was also a reminder to all race participants of the wider covid rules put in place. 

"However, the UCI reminds all participants that the rules introduced over the last two years in the interests of everyone's health and safety continue to apply. These include the obligation to wear a mask, to maintain sufficient physical distance and to disinfect hands frequently.”

Race leader Tadej Pogačar’s UAE Team Emirates teammates all returned negative results. This comes despite the news that Vegard Stake Laengen (UAE Team Emirates) tested positive last week and was sent home from the race as a result. Matteo Trentin, who was scheduled to ride for UAE, also tested positive and did not make the start in Copenhagen.

Guillame Martin (Cofidis) and Geoffrey Bouchard (AG2R Citroën) both did not start stage nine yesterday due to returning positive covid test results over the weekend. Laengen, Martin and Bouchard are the only withdrawals so far which are due to the virus. 

Monday's news will come as a relief to race organisers, as there was worry that Covid would impact the Tour with numerous riders being forced to go home. The race will therefore resume as expected on Tuesday.

Under the new UCI rules introduced before the Tour, a team no longer has to head home if two riders test positive, and the door has been opened to asymptomatic people to remain in the race if they are not transmitting it, as is the case of Bob Jungels (AG2R Citroën).

Teams will now not be obliged to test their riders until the next rest day, at which time the nerves about Covid positives will creep up again. Some teams are doing rapid tests every other day, but most are not.

"We're not," Ineos Grenadiers' Tom Pidcock said. "There's no point testing if you don't have symptoms, it's a normal illness. If you're ill, you're ill. It's simple. It's not like if you've got Covid and you've got no symptoms you go home. We test when we need to test."

Tuesday will bring stage ten, and a second day in the Alps, without the stress of Covid immediately. 

Bauke Mollema soloed to a stunning victory in Italian one-day race Trofeo Laigueglia.

The Trek-Segafredo Dutchman launched a devastating attack 15km from the line, holding off an elite chasing group including Egan Bernal to secure the win.

Despite a valiant effort from the five-rider chasing group, Mollema took the win 39 seconds ahead of Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers) in second, with Deceuninck - Quick-Step’s Mauri Vansevenant rounding out the podium.

How it happened

The 2021 edition of the 1.Pro-ranked Trofeo Laigueglia was raced over 202km along Italy’s Mediterranean coast.

A one-day race for the climbers, this year’s edition featured six categorised climbs along the route, including four ascents of the Colla Micheri and the Capo Mele during laps of a finishing circuit from around 160km into the day.

Racing started with an 11-rider breakaway, which featured Britain’s John Archibald (Eolo-Kometa) and Nicolas Edet (Cofidis).

While the break pulled out a four-minute advantage early in the stage, the peloton began to wound in the escapees over the tough climbs in the middle sections of the race.

The race then exploded inside the final 70km as riders entered the four finishing circuits, as Mikel Landa (Bahrain-Victorious) attacked.

After more attacks from the likes of Guilio Ciccone (Trek-Segafredo) and Bernal, the remains of the breakaway were swept up and an elite group formed at the front of the race inside 20km, including Mollema, Bernal, Landa and Vansevenant.

With 15km left to race, Mollema launched his attack and immediately pulled out a gap, extending his advantage over his final ascents of the Colla Micheri and Capo Mele.

>>> Who is the bookies’s favourite to win Strade Bianche 2021?  

Mollema carried his attack all the way to the line, securing a huge early-season victory.

Results

Trofeo Laigueglia 2021:  Laigueglia to Laigueglia (202km)

1. Bauke Mollema (Ned) Trek-Segafredo, in 4-57-05

2. Egan Bernal (Col) Ineos Grenadiers, at 39s

3. Mauri Vansevenant (Bel) Deceuninck - Quick-Step

4. Clément Champoussin (Fra) Ag2r Citroën

5. Giulio Ciccone (Ita) Trek-Segafredo

6. Mikel Landa (Esp) Bahrain-Victorious, all at same time

7. James Knox (GBr) Deceuninck - Quick-Step, at 57s

8. Andrea Vendrame (Ita) Ag2r Citroën, at 1-01

9. Biniam Ghirmay (Eri) Delko

10. Lorenzo Rota (Ita) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux, all at same time

The Tour du Var kicked off with Bauke Mollema narrowly securing stage honours over Greg Van Avermaet.

Mollema (Trek-Segafredo) bested the Belgian on a tough uphill finish in the south of France, after 186.8km of racing.

The opening stage of the 2.1-ranked stage race (which wasn’t televised live) featured no flat terrain whatsoever, with the rolling terrain starting straight from kilometre zero.

After constant climbs and rises in the first 100km, the real climbing started with a 14-km second category, 3.9 per cent gradient climb - the Col de Gourdon.

That was quickly followed by a second ascent of the same climb, before taking on the same col for one final time finishing at the summit.

After the day’s breakaway was caught before the final ascent of the Gourdon, the stage came down to a 29-rider group which reached the finish ahead of the rest.

Mollema emerged as the best of the bunch, taking victory one second ahead of Ag2r-Citroën’s Van Avermaet, with Valentin Madouas (Groupama-FDJ in third.

The pre-race favourites remain in contention after the first stage, with Nairo Quintana (Arkéa-Samsic) finishing in the front group in 15th, while Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers) finished 22nd.

Britain’s Tom Pidcock, making his debut for Ineos, finished in 86th place, five minutes down on the front group.

On his second place, Van Avermaert said: “I’m happy. It was a tough finish for climbers or punchers. It’s always better to win, but I’m happy with my second place.

“The legs are good and the team protected me well.”

>>> ‘They trust me a lot, to lead the team is a great challenge’ says Richard Carapaz on Tour de France ambitions 

The three-stage race continues with a potential opportunity for the versatile sprinters on stage two.

Results

Tour de Var 2021 stage one, Biot to Gourdon (186.8km)

1. Bauke Mollema (Ned) Trek-Segafredo, in 4-50-20

2. Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) Ag2r-Citroën, at 1 second

3. Valentin Madouas (Fra) Groupama-FDJ

4. Michael Woods (Can) Israel Start-Up Nation

5. Giulio Ciccone (Ita) Trek-Segafredo

6. Dorian Godon (Fra) Ag2r-Citroen

7. Rudy Molard (Fra) Groupama-FDJ

8. Jesus Herrarda (Esp) Cofidis

9. Thibaut Pinot (Fra) Groupama-FDJ

10. David Gaudi (Fra) Groupama-FDJ, all at same time

General classification after stage one

1. Bauke Mollema (Ned) Trek-Segafredo, in 4-50-20

2. Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) Ag2r-Citroën, at 1 second

3. Valentin Madouas (Fra) Groupama-FDJ

4. Michael Woods (Can) Israel Start-Up Nation

5. Giulio Ciccone (Ita) Trek-Segafredo

6. Dorian Godon (Fra) Ag2r-Citroen

7. Rudy Molard (Fra) Groupama-FDJ

8. Jesus Herrarda (Esp) Cofidis

9. Thibaut Pinot (Fra) Groupama-FDJ

10. David Gaudi (Fra) Groupama-FDJ, all at same time

Chris Froome became the winner of the 2011 Vuelta a España this morning after the anti-doping declassification of Juan José Cobo, whose ride had surprised a few people at the time.

Spaniard Cobo, now 38, never took another victory after the 2011 Vuelta and only had one other Grand Tour ride of note, 10th in the 2009 Vuelta, which was also stripped.

>>> Dave Brailsford: Chris Froome 2011 Vuelta victory 'doesn't feel like' Great Britain's first Grand Tour win

"I was always a bit surprised with that performance," Dutchman Bauke Mollema (Trek-Segafredo) told Cycling Weekly.

With the ruling, Mollema moved from fourth to third overall, Bradley Wiggins from third to second.

"In that Vuelta, I don't think I was the only one [who was surprised with Cobo's ride]. But OK, I finished fourth and you go on, but then suddenly this year you hear they go after him and he's suspended," Mollema added.

"I think everyone had that feeling at the Vuelta. Also the year after that he didn't do anything any more.

"Normally that a guy that wins a Grand Tour can then also finish in a top-10 of another Grand Tour or win other big races, but that was the only thing he did in those years. It was a bit strange.

"Now it comes out, it was not really the way it should have been."

Mollema consistently rode well through his career, but the fourth place – now third – still remains his best Grand Tour result. In the 2019 Tour de France, which rolled out of Toulouse this morning for stage 12, he is helping Richie Porte for the overall classification.

"I heard it this morning, I read it on the internet. I didn't get an official notification. I can say, I'm really happy now," Mollema said.

"I don't why it takes eight years. It's unbelievable that it takes that long.

"I don't know, it would've been nice saying I stood on a podium at a Grand Tour. Now it's even hard to say it even if I am there officially now. It feels strange, it should've been much faster than eight years later."

Bauke Mollema has raised issue with the motorbikes riding too close to the peloton at the Giro d’Italia.

The Trek-Segafredo rider complained about the bikes after stage 15, saying they had given an unfair advantage to the bunch over the two-rider breakaway.

Dutchman Mollema said the television bikes had ridden between 10 and 30 metres in front of the main group of riders, giving them an aerodynamic advantage.

>>> Watch: Moment of panic in team car during toilet break when Primož Roglič hit by mechanical at Giro d’Italia

Taking to Twitter to vent his frustration, the 32-year-old said: “Super happy to see the break making it to the finish.

“If not, the winner should have sent some flowers to [Italian broadcaster] RAI/ TV motorbikes.

“All day only 10-30 metres in front of the bunch. Really UCI, is this a WorldTour race? Or they don’t care about safety and fair play in Italy?”

Mollema said he had complained to the riders’ union the CPA as well as the Giro d’Italia organisers and the race jury.

Movistar’s José Joaquín Rojas responded on Twitter, agreeing with Mollema by questioning why he hadn’t raised the issue publicly before.

The Spaniard said: “Last week there were the same bikes in the same place and you did not complain?

“I agree with you, but you could have put this tweet out on the first day to try and fix it.

“We only remember when it rains on our roof.”

>>> Who do the bookmakers think will win the Giro d’Italia 2019 heading into week three?

Mollema responded: “It didn’t influence me personally today, but it almost did for the two guys in front.

“I have already complained a lot to the CPA and the jury in the last two weeks, but if that doesn’t help?”

Stage 15 was defined by a two rider breakaway made up of Dario Cataldo (Astana) and Mattia Catteno (Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec), with the latter taking the victory in the sprint.

The pair had build up a 12-minute advantage at one point, but that had closed to 11 seconds by the line.

Complaints about riders drafting behind motos is not new to the professional peloton – in 2017, riders complained about incidents at the Tour of Oman, Ruta del Sol and the Volta ao Algarve, which were all taking place at the same time.

A study carried out by the Eindhoven University of Technology, published in 2016, found that “the aerodynamic effect of motorcycles can be substantial and even decisive.”

Alberto Contador will not be replaced by another Grand Tour contender in Trek-Segafredo's 2018 line-up, as the US-registered squad announced the last of their signings on Monday.

The team announced that Ethiopian Tsgabu Grmay and Italian Nicola Conci will join the squad from 2018, leaving Bauke Mollema as Trek's leading Grand Tour contender.

Mollema finished seventh in this year's Giro d'Italia, and 17th in the Tour de France with a win on stage 15. The Dutchman's best overall Grand Tour placing so far in his career has been fourth in the 2011 Vuelta a España.

Other riders in the team could now step up to lead in Grand Tours, such as 28-year-old Colombian Jarlinson Pantano, who posted top 20 finishes at the Tour de France in 2015 and 2016 and has been a key helper for Contador during 2017.

>>> Trek-Segafredo in no rush to find replacement for Alberto Contador

Contador retired after completing this year's Vuelta a España, where he finished in fifth place overall behind winner Chris Froome (Team Sky). Contador put in a trademark daring ride to net stage 20 on Alto de l'Angliru, closing out a career that has seen him win two editions of the Tour, two of the Giro and three of the Vuelta.

Trek general manager Luca Guercilena told Cycling Weekly in August that the team was not going to rush into replacing Contador, saying: "We are going to assess the opportunities when they come. We are not going to go crazy because we have to replace Alberto at all costs."

Along with Grmay and Conci, Trek has signed Gianluca Brambilla (from Quick-Step Floors), Alex Frame (from JLT Condor), Toms Skujiņš (from Cannondale-Drapac) and Ryan Mullen (from Cannondale-Drapac) for 2018.

German John Degenkolb and Belgian Jasper Stuyven are likely to spearhead Trek's assault in the Classics.

Tour de France leader Chris Froome (Team Sky) came under pressure during stage 15 of the race on Sunday after losing contact with his rivals on a key climb.

Froome first lost contact with the front of the contenders group on the category one Col de Peyra Taillade with 32km to go before immediately suffering a puncture. A roadside wheel change saw him having to fight to regain contact with the group containing rivals Fabio Aru (Astana) and Romain Bardet (Ag2r).

>>> Tour de France 2017: Latest news, reports and race info

However, the British Sky leader made the junction with the help of team-mate Mikel Landa to retain his position at the top of the general classification ahead of Aru.

Meanwhile, the stage victory came from the day's escape group, with Dutchman Bauke Mollema (Trek-Segafredo) taking a solo win. Diego Ulissi (UAE) led home the chasers for second, with Tony Gallopin (Lotto-Soudal) in third.

Big group on the attack

The day kicked off with an escape group instigated by polka-dot jersey holder Warren Barguil (Team Sunweb) in the hunt for mountains points with four classified climbs on offer.

Barguil's group were joined by a further group headed up by team-mate Michael Matthews (Team Sunweb), to swell the break to 28 riders. Included were several representatives from squads who have so far come up empty-handed at the 2017 Tour – Katusha-Alpecin, Cofidis and Bahrain-Merida included.

Damiano Caruso (BMC) was the highest-placed overall of the riders in the break, starting the day at 11-26 behind Froome – so no immediate threat for the overall.

Barguil crested the first two classified climbs – Montée de Naves d'Aubrac and Côte de Vieurals – in pole position to scoop up the points, and Matthews was first over the intermediate sprint at the stage's mid-way point at Sant-Alban-sur-Limagnole. He now closes the gap on green jersey Marcel Kittel (Quick-Step Floors).

With 62km to go, world time trial champion Tony Martin (Katusha-Alpecin) picked his moment to attack, launching a solo move in an attempt to time trial to the finish. By 50km to go, Martin had opened up quite a gap on his former escape companions and was nine minutes ahead of the bunch.

Moment of panic for Sky

The first set-back of the day for Froome came at 40km to go, as Ag2r hit the front of the peloton and opened up a gap. Froome and Sky were caught out and had to chase hard to regain contact. Then disaster struck again, when Froome had a mechanical and had to stop at the side of the road and swap rear wheels with Michal Kwiatkowski.

The Ag2r-led group forged on ahead, leaving Froome to be paced by Sergio Henao and Vasil Kiryienka in an attempt to try and catch up with the contenders group as they hit the slopes of the Col de Peyra Taillade. Nieve then dropped back to help Froome, but swung off to leave Froome to catch up on his own, accompanied by an unpleasant number of boos from roadside spectators.

Meanwhile, Tony Martin cracked on the climb, went backwards and was caught and passed by Barguil, continuing his hunt for mountains points at the top of the climb.

Landa – fifth overall at the start of the day – then dropped out of the contenders group with 34km to go to pace up Froome. The move meant that Sky were putting all of their eggs into one basket – but it worked, as Landa and Froome rejoined the contenders.

Ag2r kept up the pressure, with Alexis Vuillermoz leading team-mate Romain Bardet on his 'home' roads. On his wheel were Froome, Landa, Aru, Daniel Martin (Quick-Step Floors), Rigoberto Uran (Cannondale-Drapac), Simon Yates (Orica-Scott), Louis Meintjes (UAE) and Alberto Contador (Trek-Segafredo).

One rider who was absent, and again looking in bad shape, was Nairo Quintana (Movistar). The Colombian dropped off the pace of the front group relatively early on the Col de Peyra Taillade.

Over the top of the Peyra Taillade, Bauke Mollema (Trek-Segafredo) attacked from the reformed escape group on the descent and towards the day's final classified climb of Côte de Saint-Vidal. The Dutchman powered on, opening up a significant gap with 15km to go. By this point, he was 50 seconds ahead of the chasers and over six and a half minutes ahead of the GC contenders group containing Froome, Bardet and Aru.

Having seen that they had not shaken off Froome, the Ag2r-led GC group eased off a little allowing the Sky leader to recoup some energy. It didn't last long as Yates attacked on the Côte de Saint-Vidal, causing a frantic chase – and he was reeled in before the top.

Then it was Dan Martin who launched a move on the flat after the climb, with little reaction from the rest of the GC group.

Mollema continued on to take the stage victory, with Ulissi sprinting from a group of four chasers to take second.

By the finish, Dan Martin managed to open up a gap of 14 seconds to his rivals, to claw back some valuable time as Froome led in the rest of the GC favourites with a determined sprint – job done for another day.

Froome still leads Aru by 18 seconds overall, with Bardet in third at 23 seconds. Uran is fourth at 29 seconds – slim differences at the end of two weeks of racing.

Martin moves up to fifth overall at 1-12, moving Landa down to sixth. Yates keeps hold of the best young rider's jersey in seventh spot. Quintana dropped out of the top 10 after his bad day, with Caruso moving up to 10th overall after his effort in the break.

The 2017 Tour de France takes its second rest day on Monday, when the riders will be able to recoup their energy after another bruising stage. Then it's on to the Alps in a gruelling final week before the race concludes on Sunday, July 23, in Paris.

Results

Tour de France 2017, stage 15: Laissac Sévérac l’Église to Le Puy en Velay, 189.5km

1. Bauke Mollema (Ned) Trek-Segafredo, in 4-41-47

2. Diego Ulissi (Ita) UAE Team Emirates, at 19 seconds

3. Tony Gallopin (Fra) Lotto-Soudal

4. Primoz Roglic (Slo) LottoNL-Jumbo, at same time

5. Warren Barguil (Fra) Team Sunweb, at 23 secs

6. Nicolas Roche (Irl) BMC Racing, at 1-00

7. Lilian Calmejane (Fra) Direct Energie, at 1-04

8. Jan Bakelants (Bel) Ag2r La Mondiale

9. Thibaut Pinot (Fra) FDJ

10. Serge Pauwels (Bel) Dimension Data, at same time

Other

25. Daniel Martin (Irl) Quick-Step Floor, at 6-11

27. Simon Yates (GBr) Orica-Scott, at 6-25

28. Chris Froome (GBr) Team Sky, at 6-25

31. Fabio Aru (Ita) Astana, at 6-25

46. Nairo Quintana (Col) Movistar, at 10-19

General classification after stage 15

1. Chris Froome (GBr) Team Sky, in 64-40-21

2. Fabio Aru (Ita) Astana, at 18 secs

3. Romain Bardet (Fra) Ag2r La Mondiale, at 23 secs

4. Rigoberto Uran (Col) Cannondale-Drapac, at 29 secs

5. Daniel Martin (Irl) Quick-Step Floors, at 1-12

6. Mikel Landa (Esp) Team Sky, at 1-17

7. Simon Yates (GBr) Orica-Scott, at 2-02

8. Louis Meintjes (RSA) UAE Team Emirates, at 5-09

9. Alberto Contador (Esp) Trek-Segafredo, at 5-37

10. Damiano Caruso (Ita) BMC Racing, at 6-05

Other

11. Nairo Quintana (Col) Movistar, at 6-16

Tom Dumoulin (Sunweb) says that his rivals were not working for themselves, but for him en route to Asiago.

He is "forever thankful" that they kept Giro d'Italia leader Nairo Quintana (Movistar) under control ahead of the final time trial stage in Milan on Sunday.

>>> Tom Dumoulin minimises time losses to set up final stage decider as Pinot wins Giro d’Italia stage 20

The Colombian in the pink jersey rode clear with Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain-Merida) and Thibaut Pinot (FDJ), second and third in the classification, over the final climb.

Behind, Dumoulin had Adam Yates (Orica-Scott), Bauke Mollema (Trek-Segafredo) and above all, Bob Jungels (Quick-Step Floors) pulling the group along to close at 15 seconds back and to keep him at a reasonable 53-second striking distance in the overall classification.

"I'm happy that I'm mentally and physically much better than yesterday," Dumoulin said when returning to his team bus. "I'm forever thankful and grateful for the work Bauke Mollema, Bob Jungels and Adam Yates did for me today,"

"They were pretty much not really fighting any more for spots on GC because they are pretty much fixed in their spots on GC so it was also definitely to help me, so I'm very happy with that and very thankful."

The Dutchman, second in the Olympic time trial behind Fabian Cancellara, rode 2-53 minutes into Quintana in the last 39.8-kilometre time trial on stage 10.

Tomorrow, he has 29.3 kilometres from the Monza Formula One track to the Duomo in Milan to make up 53 seconds on Quintana.

He needed to keep the gap small in today's final mountain stage to make the leap feasible. Instead of attacking each other, Mollema, Yates and Jungles – seventh through ninth overall – rode together.

Yates leads Jungles by a slim 28 seconds in the youth classification, a spot he will likely lose to the more talented time trialist from Luxembourg.

"I know Yates, Jungels and Mollema, the three of them, for a long time and we've always been good together and we just cooperated well.”

Dumoulin was asked to clarify if there was a Quintana/Nibali axis and one for him.

"The situation was just like that, they were riding for their GC and I was riding for mine, and the three guys helped me with that. That's really nice of them."

Earlier in the race, Nibali led attacks on the Stelvio stage when Dumoulin stopped to relieve himself due to stomach problems. Dumoulin said that he hoped Nibali and Quintana lost their podium spots for how they teamed together two days ago in stage 18.

Dumoulin now stands to become the first Dutchman to win the Giro d'Italia in its 100 years if he can pull back the time in the final time trial.

"I'm just going to focus to my own ride tomorrow, then we'll see after the finish what it's worth," Dumoulin added.

"It could be possible, but after three weeks racing, after a hard week in the mountains like this, anything can happen,”

"I think everyone there are five guys aiming for the [overall] win and with possibilities to win, I think the five of us really have pressure and I just need to focus on my own ride."

Bauke Mollema (Trek-Segafredo) took overall victory in the Vuelta a San Juan after an aggressive final day of racing in Argentina.

Moles went into the final stage with a 14-second lead over Oscar Sevilla (Medellin-Inder), but his main threat came from Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain-Merida) who made his way into the day's break in an effort to overcome a 1-17 deficit.

Together with local riders Gonzalo Najar and Juan Pablo Dotti, Nibali built up a lead of over a minute and a half, putting Nibali into the virtual race lead.

>>> Richie Porte stays at top of UCI WorldTour ranking

However strong work from Trek-Segafredo and Quick-Step Floors, who were looking to take their fifth stage victory of the race, meant that the trio were caught within the final 10 kilometres.

With the peloton expecting a bunch sprint, Quick-Step sprung a surprise, with Max Richeze jumping clear in the final kilometre to win by three seconds ahead of team-mate Tom Boonen and Matteo Malucelli (Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec).

Results

Vuelta a San Juan 2017, stage seven: Pocito to Pocito, 111.3km

1. Maximiliano Richeze (Arg) Quick-Step Floors, in 2-16-48

2. Tom Boonen (Bel) Quick-Step Floors, at 3 secs

3. Matteo Malucelli (Ita) Androni Giocattoli - Sidermec

4. Andrea Guardini (Ita) Team UAE Abu Dhabi

5. Nicola Ruffoni (Ita) Bardiani CSF

6. Jose Luis Rivera (Arg) Equipo Continental Municipalidad de Pocito

7. Ramunas Navardauskas (Ltu) Bahrain-Merida

8. Attilio Viviani (Ita) Italy

9. Daniel Juarez (Arg) Asociacion Civil Mardan

10. Mattia Viel (Ita) Unieuro Trevigiani - Hemus 1896, all same time

Final general classification

1. Bauke Mollema (Ned) Trek-Segafredo, in 20-19-00

2. Oscar Sevilla (Spa) Medellin - Inder, at 4 secs

3. Rodolfo Torres (Col) Androni Giocattoli - Sidermec, at 16 secs

4. Ricardo Escuela (Arg) Agrupacion Virgen De Fatima, at 20 secs

5. Rui Costa (Por) UAE-Abu Dhabi. at 26 secs

6. Laureano Rosas (Arg) Argentina, at 27 secs

7. Ramunas Navardauskas (Ltu) Bahrain Merida, at 49 secs

8. Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Bahrain-Merida, at 1-15

9. Egan Bernal (Col) Androni Giocattoli - Sidermec, at 1-29

10. Pieter Serry (Bel) Quick-Step Floors, at 1-31