In recent seasons, Matej Mohoric was pretty consistent in securing two or three major wins each year. However, 2024 turned out to be a lean year for the Slovenian super-descender of Bahrain Victorious. His only victory was a stage in the Tour of Valencia, while success eluded him in the grand tours and classics. Why is that? Mohoric explains his lackluster season.
At the start of the year, Mohoric was still in form during Strade Bianche and Milan-San Remo, as he explained to Cyclinguptodate. “I think if Jasper Philipsen was not in our group then van der Poel would race for himself, maybe that attack in the final kilometers would have worked. It was a season for me to forget but I am moving on and working hard to be even better next year."
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Mohoric then crashed out of the Tour of Flanders, a race where he often competes with the best. “The highlight of the year was the crash in Flanders, which destroyed my classics ambitions. It was not really a good season for me, I don't think I got any of the results I really worked hard for,” he added with disappointment. That’s why next season, he wants to be in top form from the Opening Weekend onwards, and try to peak early.
Mohoric has no plans to make major changes, though. “I think it's going to be similar to the past couple seasons. I'm going to focus on the spring classics, then a small break and Tour de France.” Finally, when asked about race safety and the ongoing discussions surrounding it, Mohoric was firm in his opinion. “It's always going to be racing, we as racers are willing to risk a lot to win a race, it is a very competitive sport and the rewards are pretty big so..."
"In the end it comes down to us to access the risks but to stay on the safe side, but sometimes we do risk too much. It's in our nature, it's always going to be like that. There's not a lot you can do, cycling is not a sport that happens in a controlled environment, in a stadium or race track so it has it's limits. Most of the time if it's not down to winning a big big race for me, I really try to stay within my limits, I never would risk anything for a 7th place in a race. Of course when I was trying to win San Remo I tried taking a lot of risks in the final corner and I almost had a bad crash... But it was my personal decision and nothing happened in the end."