Matej Mohorič has said that the prospect of being heavily marked on his return to Milan-San Remo, is certainly not something that intimidates him.
After winning last year’s edition of the race thanks to a daredevil descent of the famous Poggio climb, Mohorič believes it’s inevitable that all eyes will be on him. However, the Bahrain Victorious rider told Cycling Weekly that it will change nothing in his approach or his team's tactics on the day.
“I think it’s a fact that I’m going to be more marked,” Mohorič said. “Although I don’t think it necessarily changes anything in my approach to the race. I will still try to do the same thing, but I think there’s probably going to be some more people who will try to follow this time round. They might want to ride with me when we get off the Poggio, so we’ll see what happens.”
As it proved to be last year, the Poggio is nearly always decisive in Milan-San Remo. Mohorič explained to CW that he thinks even a handful of seconds will be enough of a gap once the riders hit the bottom of the descent in order for him to double up after last year’s victory.
“San Remo is such a highly contested race that you can’t just let somebody go. If you let someone go, and nobody goes with them then they’re going to win the race,” he added. “It’s such a short space of time when you finish the descent of the Poggio to the finish line. It’s basically two kilometres, so if anyone gets just three seconds advantage, then it’s finished.”
Despite the fact that others will be more attentive to Mohorič on the day, the Slovenian explained that he’ll utilise the same trusted plan of attack this time around and focus on just hanging on when the attacks start flying on the final climb.
“In my mind, yes, it will be the same. Although of course the race might play out differently,” he said. “Maybe there will be some attacks on the Cipressa, or a much slower pace there which will mean there could be a much bigger group hitting the Poggio.”
“Obviously that will change everything, but in my mind I won’t try anything crazy. I’m not going to wait for a sprint or attack on the Cipressa. The focus is still on the Poggio, just getting across the top as close to the front as possible, then we’ll see what happens.”
