San Remo (Italy) (AFP) - Matej Mohoric won Milan-San Remo on Saturday with a stunning late, downhill burst which led to him holding off a frustrated chasing pack featuring race favourites Tadej Pogacar and Wout van Aert.
Bahrain Victorious rider Mohoric, a stage winner on all three Grand Tours, launched an attack on the final descent from the Poggio climb after around 290 kilometres of riding to claim the season's first ultra-long, one-day 'Monument' race.
"I managed to get up the Poggio with the top riders and I thought to myself 'it's now or never', and it turns out it was now," Mohoric said in Italian to RAI.
"After two years with no fans it was wonderful seeing all the people...It was a really wonderful day."
The Slovene finished two seconds ahead of France's Anthony Turgis and Dutchman Mathieu van der Poel despite nearly crashing twice on his rapid descent and having a mechanical problem in the final few hundred metres following nearly six and a half hours of cycling.
"I kept my calm despite almost crashing two times...The second time I slipped out both wheels, front and back, in the last sharp corner when the Poggio descent finishes," an elated Mohoric later told reporters.
"I lost a lot of time there, I think maybe two or three seconds...And then on the last corner with 600 metres to go I dropped the chain because I changed gear in the corner and it's quite a bumpy road.
"Thankfully it's just a push of a button and you fix it, and I just didn't give up and pushed all the way.I was in a lot of pain in that last 2km."
His attack came after four unsuccessful attempts from Pogacar and another from Primoz Roglic on the Poggio climb, which is traditionally one of the launchpads for the race winner.
Mohoric stuns field
Instead, descent specialist Mohoric defied convention by making the decisive move on the descent.He darted down a winding slope before joining the via Aurelia and crossing the line in front of a shocked and ecstatic crowd.
The 27-year-old explained that he learned his impressive technique as a child in the Slovenian mountains, "building mountain bike trails in the woods behind the village, always doing descents and always pushing each other".
With big names Julian Alaphilippe, Caleb Ewan, Sonny Colbrelli and last year's winner Jasper Stuyven all out, Pogacar and Van Aert were the big favourites heading into the race.
Pogacar, aiming to become the first reigning Tour de France champion to win Milan-San Remo since Eddy Merckx in 1976, was in a main group which reduced to little more than 30 riders on the Cipressa climb and then caught a breakaway which had been launched almost at the very start.
Meanwhile three-time world champion Peter Sagan, who had suffered a mechanical problem, desperately tried to rejoin the leaders on the winding 3km descent from the Cipressa.
UAE Team Emirates rider Davide Formolo led a select peloton for his teammate Pogacar while Jumbo-Visma and Van Aert lurked, a high pace helped by a tail wind setting up an intense finish for the last Poggio climb.
The finale didn't disappoint as Pogacar tried in vain to push away from his rivals with attack after counter-attack up the hill.
And with all eyes on him and Van Aert, Mohoric made his move, flying past his more famous rivals to take by far his biggest one-day victory.
