Tadej Pogačar was unable to hit the levels of Strade Bianche and Tirreno-Adriatico as his Slovenian Matej Mohorič took Saturday’s Milan-San Remo race.
His daring descent down the Poggio earned him a small gap he maintained for the final kilometres.
And he crossed the line while pointing to the flag on his chest, six seconds ahead of chasing Anthony Turgis.
Mohorič caused a stir for more reasons than one though in cycling’s first monument of the season.
While flying down the Poggio’s winding roads at high speed, the Bahrain Victorious man narrowly avoided disaster on a corner when he just managed to stay upright following a wobble.
It was revealed after the race Mohorič was using a dropper seat post which is more common in mountain biking.
However, the UCI did confirm its use is legal under a rule introduced in 2014.
Using a drop post, which allows the seat to drop to a lower position and therefore lowers your centre of gravity, makes high-speed turns marginally easier and more stable.
Mohorič thinks technological improvements mean their use will become more frequent in the coming years.
The 27-year-old said: “The technology is more advanced now and they don’t weigh much more than a regular seat post. Maybe next year all the bikes will be available with a dropper.
“It’s safe in traffic too and so in training. You can brake better. I think it’s a big advantage in racing too.”
Somewhere we could see the innovation is at this week’s Volta a Catalunya.
The seven-day stage race was dominated by Ineos Grenadiers last year with the Britain-based team occupying all-three podium places.
However, this time around the team travelling to the Spanish North East will be without Adam Yates or Geraint Thomas who finished first and third respectively in 2021.
The Grenadiers’ squad is still a strong one even without leader Egan Bernal, who suffered a life-threatening injury in January.
Richard Carapaz and Richie Porte are among their contenders for the general classification while the likes of Simon Yates and Nairo Quintana will seek to show their credentials ahead of 2022’s first grand tour, the Giro d’Italia, in May.
(Featured image courtesy of Franco Nikonino – under creative commons licence 2.0)
