After his coup, Mohoric lifted the racing machine. Pogacar also gave his compatriot an appreciative pat on the shoulder. The Tour champion was fifth, the Belgian Wout van Aert had to settle for ninth place. The two superstars hadn’t given each other a meter in the final, which played into Mohoric’s cards.
Jakobsen and Co. left behind
Pogacar, who has won both the Tirreno-Adriatico and UAE Tour this season and the Strade Bianche gravel race, failed to launch one of his dreaded attacks this time. The strong Dutch Jumbo Visma team around van Aert and Roglic, who took part in the Cipressa – the penultimate climb – kept the pace extremely high. This also ensured that many sprinters like Fabio Jakobsen (Netherlands) were left behind.
It went similarly Poggio, where Pogacar attacked again and again almost desperately and was brought back by the competition. So the decision was only made on the descent. Mohoric is no stranger to this. The man from Kranj is considered a fast-paced driver who had already won two stages of the Tour last year.
Alaphilippe, Colbrelli and Ewan not at the start
Due to the outbreak of colds in cycling, many prominent names were absent from the starting line. The French world champion Julian Alaphilippewinner of 2019, the Italian European champion Sonny Colbrellilast year’s winner Jasper Stuyven (Belgium) and the Sprintstars caleb ewan (Australia) and Sam Bennett (Iraland) all had to fit in terms of health.
Weakened Kluge dropped out
The experienced Roger Kluge said goodbye to the already small German fraction with only seven drivers in the middle of the race. The former track cycling world champion started the race with a cold. For a long time, however, the focus was on a breakaway group of eight, which had pulled away shortly after the start and was now seven minutes ahead of the field. At Poggio, however, the endeavor for the last escapees was over.
Source: dpa