It has been allowed since 2014, but it was the first time a cyclist thought of bending the regulations of the international cycling federation UCI on Saturday in Milan-Sanremo. Slovenian national champion Matej Mohoric recorded the biggest win of his career with it.
The Bahrain-Victorious rider attributed the victory in the first monument of the year largely to an eight-year-old ‘novelty’: his racing bike had a seatpost that he could raise and lower while cycling, just like an office chair. The highest position is the normal saddle position, a lower saddle provides an aerodynamic position. And the lower center of gravity would give the rider more control.
Mohoric, who counts as a specialist descending, turned almost five kilometers from the finish in the seaside town of Sanremo on a ring that his mechanic had mounted on the bend of his handlebars. At the same time he pushed his body a little harder on the saddle, which then went down 5 centimeters. It was the start of the descent of his life.
Would benefit 2 counting per kilometer
During his winter training, he had been surprised at the greater speed with which he could use a so-called ‘dropper post‘ could descend, Mohoric said with a big grin after his ceremony. It would be approximately 2 seconds advantage per kilometer. With a beaming voice, foreman Franco Pellizotti demonstrated how simple the principle is: simultaneously turn the knob and push the saddle down, turn again and the saddle shoots up again. The difference was 5 centimeters and to think that most pros immediately feel it when their saddle is one millimeter higher or lower.
Pellizotti also didn’t understand why it hadn’t been done before. †il telescopio‘ is 130 grams heavier than the normal seatpost on the Merida from Mohoric. That is little, but possibly still too much for a mountain stage in the Tour de France. Tadej Pogacar said after his win in the Strade Bianche that he had used rim brakes instead of disc brakes to be 300 grams lighter. This paid off with the more than 3,000 meters in altitude of the ‘Strade’.
Vincenzo Nibali, who won Milan-Sanremo in 2018 by a superior Poggio descent, used a maximum 2-centimeter adjustable seatpost in the 2016 Tour de France, but he couldn’t control it from the handlebars and only adjust it millimeter by millimeter. The version Mohoric used works with cables incorporated into the frame. There are also bluetooth based electronic ‘pocket saddles’ on the market.
Safer alternative
Professional mountain bikers have been riding it for years. It is not entirely surprising that 27-year-old Mohoric was the first to use the thing in a road race on a racing bike. In 2013, he devised the ‘super tuck‘ and became world champion with the promises. That position with the buttocks on the top tube and the top of the fuselage curved over the handlebars has been banned since April last year. Mohoric is convinced that the pocket saddle is a much safer alternative.
However, safety was hard to find in his descent. In the six hours before the final, he had inquired left and right of Italian riders whether Sanremo has good hospitals. He also went near to potential candidates to warn them: ‘If you try to follow me on the descent, it is entirely at your own risk.’
Major risks
The fact that Mohoric had amply announced his strategy no longer mattered on the Poggio. No one dared what he did in the descent. The adjustable seatpost seemed to have a placebo effect: Believing that he had more control, Mohoric took big risks, even though he was also helped several hundred meters by a camera motor right in front of him. He checked to see if his saddle was all the way down and after that moment of inattention sat right next to the road in the gutter.
It almost went wrong in the last sharp corner. Mohoric briefly threatened to crash exactly like he did in last year’s Giro when his front wheel flipped over and his bike broke in two. Saturday went just fine, although he almost flew out of the corner when correcting. Moments later, with 2.4 flat and miles to go, Mohoric hovered over his saddle, turned the knob on his handlebars vigorously and his saddle shot up.
Mohoric, pointing emphatically to his saddle, crossed the line in the 113th Milan-Sanremo as the winner.