Matej Mohorič has confirmed he will again use a dropper seatpost at Milan-San Remo with the aim of dropping his rivals on the twisting descent of the Poggio just as he did in 2022.
Last year the Bahrain Victorious rider warned his friends in the peloton not to try to follow him on the descent, as he lowered his saddle height and so centre of gravity, thanks to the dropper post, to help him dive down the twisting slope and go clear alone.
Mohorič took huge risks on several corners, going off the road and brushing the low walls, but managed to open a gap on the twisting descent. Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) opted not to follow Mohorič and eased up, while the likes of Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) and Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Fenix) were unable to close the gap.
Mohorič opened a big enough distance on the descent of the Poggio to stay away to the finish line in Via Roma, later suggesting he 'destroyed cycling’ by finding a winning advantage via a dropper post.
At the start of Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, one of Mohorič's Bahrain Victorious mechanics told Cyclingnews that the Slovenian will use "more or less the same set-up" as last year. Mohorič himself was more coy, however, responding to our question with "if you come to Milan, you'll see".
Bahrain Victorious have now confirmed to Cyclingnews that the Slovenian will again use a dropper post. He also used it during Strade Bianche but a mechanical problem forced him to change bikes.
"No one can take that away from me, it’ll stay with me forever," Mahoric told Slovenian media of his 2022 Milan-San Remo win.
“I’m aware that winning again is a very difficult task but I think that I have good cards in my pocket and honestly a chance to win again. This race has a very a wide circle of favorites, many different riders can win, including Tadej Pogačar.”
Mohorič hatched his dropper post plan with his Bahrain Victorious team, and bike sponsor Merida, in training to take advantage of the technology on the Poggio. More common among the mountain bike scene, a dropper seatpost can be raised and lowered quickly, usually via a cable-actuated remote positioned on the handlebars.
The decision to run a dropper post was made possible thanks to the Merida Scultura bike having a traditional round seatpost.
Other teams and riders have since studied the idea of using a dropper post but the likes of Ineos Grenadiers and their bike sponsor Pinarello use an aero seatpost and so the process is far more complicated.
