Bauke Mollema shows off running pace with rapid 31-minute 10k time

At the end of an off-season that has seen more and more professional riders swap cycling for running, Bauke Mollema (Lidl-Trek) threw his hat into the ring with an impressive time in a 10km race in Monaco over the weekend.

Mollema, 37, set a time of 31:40, a pace most runners would be very pleased with, and enough to place him fourth overall out of 814 starters and win his age category at the Monaco Run Gramaglia 10k.

The Lidl-Trek rider’s time was just less than a minute shy of the winning time of 30:43, set by Anthony Barrière.

“First podium of the season!” the Dutchman said in an Instagram story about the race, attaching his impressive Strava numbers and a photo of him proudly showing off his age group trophy.

© baukemollema on Instagram

Bauke Mollema proudly shared his running exploits on his Instagram story

Mollema took to the 10k course, which headed along the seafront in Monaco and through Monte Carlo, in — naturally — a sponsor-correct, bright yellow Lidl running shirt and a get-up generally more casual than his serious competitors, but there was nothing casual about his time.

Read more: Running is the new cycling: Jasper Philipsen latest pro to demonstrate on-foot speed

Whilst most riders-who-run mix their on-foot pursuits into the off-season and time when their on-bike training load is lower, Mollema clearly has no issue combining the two. He has already started his racing season, completing the Australian block for Lidl-Trek, where he finished ninth on the Tour Down Under’s final stage to Mount Lofty.

He’s set to return to bike racing next weekend at the Faun-Ardèche Classic, before tackling some stage racing ahead of a tilt at the Ardennes Classic. Though he’ll be turning 38 this year, and is nearly two decades into his career, the Dutchman is clearly not slowing down, with a contract signed until the end of 2026 and legs that can challenge at the pointy end of both a road race and a fast 10k.

Read more: Michał Kwiatkowski and Freddy Ovett complete New York Marathon

In terms of Mollema’s place in the unofficial cyclists’ 10k leaderboard, he went faster than Leo Hayter’s 35-minute 10k in the autumn, and easily outpaced Laurence Pithie’s 17:19 5k Parkrun effort.

With riders like Michal Kwiatkowski and Tom Dumoulin taking on marathons and half marathons, is a step-up in distance next for the speedy Bauke Mollema? Maybe once he gets his 18th season in the professional peloton out the way.

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