Will the dropper post become an essential component for pro roadies?
Matej Mohorič took the win at Milan-San Remo after a masterful descent
Matej Mohorič (Bahrain Victorious) shocked the cycling world when he not only won Milan-San Remo by riding away from the top riders in the world on the descent of the Poggio, but also when he said he used a dropper seat post.
A dropper post has been around for years in the mountain bike world, and is now becoming more common in gravel races. Essentially, by hitting a remote switch at the handlebars, you can use your weight to lower your saddle. It’s advantageous on a steep downhill so you can keep your weight back and lower your centre of gravity. Then, when the trail flattens out again, you raise the platform for your butt by hitting the remote again. The saddle returns to the best height for maximum pedalling efficiency.
So awesome. I found the spot on the descent (after he almost hit a wall on the side of the road) where he raises the post. You can see him twisting his right arm about 15 seconds in and the seat comes up a bit after. pic.twitter.com/j0ygY4HJRO
— Ian Kennedy (@iankennedy7) March 19, 2022
After a flurry of attacks on the Poggio, Mohorič jumped clear from a small group on the descent, almost biting it a few times. First, he rode right into the gutter but managed to correct himself with a masterful hop. Later, he almost slammed into the curb. His descent was incredibly fast, as he rode away from Tadej Pogačar, Wout van Aert, Mathieu van Der Poel and a select group.
The Slovenian took the biggest win of his career.
Mohorič’s daredevil downhill attack wins Milan-San Remo, van der Poel third
During the post-race interview, the jaws of cycling fans dropped (unassisted by remotes) when he said Mohorič used a dropper post.
From post-race photographs, the post looks to be a Fox Transfer SL. Mohorič’s Bahrain Victorious mechanics rigged up what looks to be a twist-activated lever with cables cleanly routed through the Slovenian’s Vision handlebars. Fox’s Transfer SL XC and gravel post comes in 50 – 100mm travel options, shorter than most dropperposts. Fox subsidiary Easton just released a version of the SL post, but with a few grams shaved off with titanium bolts.
RELATED: Beginner’s guide: dropper posts
The advantages to using a dropper post could be two-fold. Firstly, as with a mountain bike, you’re lowering your centre of gravity, which would be advantageous on a descent for control. But could Mohorič also have found a new way to get even more aero, given that the super tuck has been banned? Mohorič is a pioneer of the move that allowed riders to get more aero on descents, sitting on their top tubes instead of their saddles. You sacrifice pedal power in the tuck, but the aero gains more than make up for it. In the case of a dropper on a road bike, like the tuck, you lose the ability to get a full leg extension for your optimal pedal stroke, but with your butt lower, your CdA could be down, too.
Lining up at GFRR like: pic.twitter.com/XN2cQ0pWSi
— Midweek Cycling Club (Parody) (@midweekcycling) March 19, 2022
Of course, many on Cycling Twitter are already wondering if it’s only a matter of time before the UCI asks Mohorič to toss his dropper post in the bin next to his super tuck.
