Mohoric won the Milan-Sanremo. Caruso hugs him. Tratnik can't wait. Around the bus. Team Bahrain Victorious you can breathe the hangover for the second consecutive Monument, after Colbrelli's Roubaix.
Over the moon
Matej arrives to speak to the press an hour and a half after arriving, but his smile is no less radiant and at times incredulousHe won the Milan-Sanremo with an attack on the descent of the Poggio and thanks to one of those intuitions that make him a special rider.
«I'm not saying that the others aren't lucid – explains Pellizotti in seventh heaven – but since he was a child he has always shown a great ability to analyze things».
Next to him is Volpi, winning his sixth Sanremo. The Lombard sports director is waiting for Mohoric, who's busy with the press conference, and is jealously guarding his bike.
«He did all the tests on this seatpost – he says pointing to the telescopic tube – and I feel like Claudio Villa (laughs, ed.) who always won the Sanremo Festival. I won it in the team car with Petacchi, Nibali, and Mohoric. As a rider, I won it with Bugno, Furlan, and Colombo.».
The telescopic seatpost
The dropper post on the Merida, the secret to downhill attack. He came to these roads on purpose to test the settings and did not stop until he was sure he had found the right fit.He used Scultura because it was compatible with the component currently on the market and after obtaining UCI authorization.
Mohoric used a sculpture to be able to mount the dropper seatpost The grip shift control on the handlebars, to raise and lower the saddle A UCI-approved mountain bike dropper post purchased online Larger 55 crankset to make the difference on the downhill
Mohoric used a sculpture to be able to mount the dropper seatpost The grip shift control on the handlebars, to raise and lower the saddle A UCI-approved mountain bike dropper post purchased online Larger 55 crankset to make the difference on the downhill
«We had been thinking about this plan all winter – explains the winner – and our partners Merida and Vision worked to make it possibleA mountain bike dropper seatpost, nothing unusual. We did our first tests with 20 degrees of travel, but that was too much, so we dropped it to 16, even though it can be lowered by 6-7 centimeters overall. There is a grip shift control on the handlebars, with one stroke you lower it, with another you raise it.I lowered it at the top of the Poggio and raised it a few times, in the sections where I had to pedal. For safety reasons, I think it could be the future of many races.
«We bought it online and mounted it on the Scultura because it has a round seat postNo one had ever ridden it in a race, because they thought it wasn't necessary. And I live in Monaco, This winter I came here dozens of times by car and I even drove for 4 hours going up and down PoggioI've tried it three thousand times and it worked well. This morning, jokingly, I'd go up to the favorites and sing the James Bond theme song, telling them I had the secret weapon. and not to follow me downhill. They looked at me like I was crazy..."
An important Saturday
He wasn't sure he could run and be brilliant. The fall at the Strade Bianche near Alaphilippe caused him a bad inflammation of the knee., which made him miss the Tirreno-Adriatico.
«I came back home – he says – and I stayed for 3-4 days without pedaling, but going to therapy every morning. So much so that one day the physio asked me why the hell I cared so much and I smiled and replied that I had an important race this Saturday.I was able to train well for four days and in the end I did better than many guys who ran and got sick."
Only one chance
When he realized he had the legs to resist the attacks of Pogacar, Van Aert and Van der Poel on the Poggio, the plan clicked in his head.
“I knew I had a chance to gain an advantage,” he says, “and I wanted to do my part. I sprinted for life around every corner. I was super focused. I was shooting at 450 watts and hoping that the people behind would look at each other and not put the same determination into it.In this descent I put to good use all the acrobatics we did as kids in Slovenia when we built trails in the woods and jumped down themThis, combined with road bike training, taught me to push myself beyond my limits, learning from my own mistakes.
«And that's why after the bad crash in the last Giro, I haven't changed my mindsetI don't stop in fear, because I know the reason for that accident. The pedal that touched and acted as a pivot. I haven't become more cautious, but I certainly always try to stay within my limits.. Although today in a right-hand bend both my wheels slipped and it was difficult to convince myself that I was in control (laughs, ed.)».
Masterpiece Bahrain
The team did a masterpiece, without Colbrelli with whom he would not have run differently anyway.
«We had a strong team – says Pellizotti – but not having a leader like UAE. We knew we had to play our cards on the way down. and that on the climb Matej couldn't drop Pogacar and Van Aert. He was already good if you consider that he didn't do the Tirreno in not dropping, because today we were very strong. We came with the awareness that we weren't the leading team and that not having to take responsibility for the race as if Sonny had been there 100% and Matej himself, who was a question markWe waited until after the Chiefs to see how he was doing. And in any case, even with Sonny, we would have run like this, because Matej would have played this card."
Simona Mazzoleni, the always-smiling press officer and the Osmo that records everything, is over the moon. If everything continues to go right in this world, 2022 promises to be an interesting season too.
