AT THE end of an emotionally-charged final day at the 2023 Tour of Slovenia, Matej Mohoric crossed the line in Novo Mesto with tears in his eyes, smiled, and pointed to the sky.
His gesture needed no explanation: “This one is inspired by Gino, and for Gino.”
It was a stage that Mohoric had earmarked as his priority even before the race had started, having been agonisingly close to victory at the same finish last year. Then, he was thwarted by Tadej Pogacar (UAE), but nobody could stop the Slovenian today.
A seven-man breakaway had well over a minute’s advantage as the peloton crossed the line for the first time, but that gap was quickly eroded until they were caught with 10km remaining. All six Team Bahrain Victorious riders had pulled hard on the front chasing all day.
Mohoric accelerated immediately and quickly left his rivals behind. At that moment, the overall race leader – Filippo Zana (Jayco AlUla) – realised that his GC victory was in doubt and started to chase.
Soon enough, they were working together to keep the bunch a safe distance back, and as the end came into view, Zana had no answer for the Bahrain Victorious rider’s superiority on the last few hundred metres of cobbles.
“I knew that today’s course suited me, and in the finale, I was so focused. I wanted to win so badly; I just wanted the stage win, I certainly wasn’t thinking about the GC,” he said afterwards. “For me – to get the first one on the board this season, and above all, for Gino. It was a little bit emotional today for what happened this week, but I wanted to give it all on the road. Everything went as planned.”
In the end, Mohoric also finished second overall. It’s the 28-year-old’s first triumph of the season.