Matej Mohoric has been only a shadow of his usual self throughout this season and the past three weeks in France have not changed much about that impression. Until Paris. With only one day left to improve the mostly vague impression left by Bahrain – Victorious in this year’s edition, Mohoric gave it his all to succeed on Champs-Élysées and ultimately succeeded to finish third on the day – a valuable result for the 30-year-old.”We live for days like these. We work for this all year, and unfortunately, I just missed out on the stage win,” Mohoric told media at the finish.
“I was hoping I could connect on the last climb up Montmartre and then give it my all on the descent, because I didn’t care if I had to go to the hospital or dinner. But the others were too strong,” he said of Van Aert and fellow countryman Pogacar who left the rest of leading group far behind on the last ascent. Not even Mohoric could recover such gap anymore.
“It was all about the legs on this circuit. I think Tadej was the strongest, as he was throughout the Tour. But he can’t risk everything in the corners. Wout showed he was just as strong uphill, and he was able to take more risks on the descent.”
Mohoric wanted to win not only for himself, but also for his teammates who have been through a mostly down Tour with only Lenny Martinez’s bid for polka dot jersey putting the team on the radar. “It means a lot, for the whole team. We had a difficult start to the year. We all work very hard and strive for the best, so I want to thank everyone. We’re away from our families for four weeks, and that’s tough.”
“Yesterday’s stage was actually my goal, with a perfect course,” Mohoric revealed. “But after two kilometers, I had a problem with my wheel, and I kept riding with it instead of changing. Because then I couldn’t keep up with the leading group. Ultimately, I was in the group, but I still had to change because the problem got worse.”
The emotions boiled within the Slovenian after the stage. “I was very angry with the staff that evening, and I want to apologize for that. I wanted to get something out of this Tour, and I’ve now succeeded here,” Mohoric concluded on a positive note.