Matej Mohorič after Unbound: ‘We’re going to stick to road racing’
The world gravel champion had a disastrous race, but left with a smile
Photo by:
UNBOUND Gravel/X
You could say the day before Unbound was somewhat ominous for Matej Mohorič and his Bahrain – Victorious teammates. When the 2023 Milan – San Remo winner, Matevž Govekar and Łukasz Wiśniowski were doing a pre-race recon on the roads and trails in Kansas, they were shocked at the level of mud.
“It was not quite what we expected,” Mohorič said in a video posted on instagram. “We already ordered bigger tires.” In the video the riders were trying to clean off their tires from the brown goop, laughing it off but also shocked at the amount of build-up.
View this post on Instagram
Although the world champ had a good start, riding at the front, things took a left turn Two flats and a cracked rim meant he had to quit the race early.
“We’re going to stick to road racing guys. It’s a beautiful day for cycling, beautiful weather, not so beautiful surface; it could be more smooth, it’s pretty rocky,” he said. “My sidewall does not like it but hopefully my second tube of the day will hold for a while.”
View this post on Instagram
The two Slovenians and Pole then rode to the second checkpoint and packed it in, saying they were eager to get cleaned up and grab a bite. But they did so with smiles on their face. Govekar and Wiśniowski said they would definitely return, but we will see about Mohorič .
In a stacked field, including 2016 Olympic and 20017 Paris – Roubaix winner Greg van Avermaet, it was Lachlan Morton (EF Education Easy Post) who took the win. Morton outsprinted Chad Haga, and set a new record for the 321-km race. In the women’s race, Canadian Haley Smith had a great race, finishing fourth. Rosa Klöser of Germany took the win.
