Slovenia rule early-season UCI WorldTour

The first four UCI WorldTour events of March have crowned three Slovenian stars: Tadej Pogačar (Strade Bianche and Tirreno Adriatico), Primož Roglič (Paris-Nice) and Matej Mohorič (Milano-Sanremo).

Slovenians have had a blast at the greatest heights of cycling in the past few years, but never has the mountainous and forested alpine country been as dominant as we’ve seen this month. The wonderkid Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) lit beautiful fireworks in Italy, showing total supremacy in Strade Bianche and Tirreno-Adriatico. His elder Primož Roglič (Jumbo-Visma) joined the party claiming, in Paris-Nice, his 10th overall success in a UCI WorldTour event. And Matej Mohorič (Bahrain Victorious) stole the show descending the Poggio to take the first Monument of the season, Milano-Sanremo, and the third for Slovenian cycling in a year, following Pogačar’s triumphs in Liège-Bastogne-Liège and Il Lombardia.

Mohorič, the daredevil

After Pogačar had destroyed the opposition in his first three races of the season (UAE Tour, Strade Bianche and Tirreno-Adriatico), all eyes were on him when he attacked four times up the Poggio di Sanremo, last Saturday, in a bid to get rid of sprinters ahead of a furious run-in to the Via Roma.

The prodigy still led the way on the downhill… only to witness his compatriot Mohorič fly to the front with astounding skills and a mind-boggling calmness.

“Before the race, [Mohorič] told me not to try to follow him downhill and I replied that I was aware that it would be very difficult to follow him, since I know that he is crazy when the road goes down,” Pogačar said in Sanremo.

He is very well aware of Mohorič’s unique skills that got him a trademark victory in line with his previous successes, including two UCI Road World Champion titles, as a Junior (2012) and in the Under 23 ranks (2013). The latter saw him narrowly fend off the likes of Louis Meintjes (RSA) and Julian Alaphilippe (FRA) after a spectacular downhill in Florence (Italy).

“In the last 3km, I was super focused”, the winner described. “I didn’t think about anything else, only giving my best. I stayed focused even if I risked crashing twice. I’m so happy to pull it off. It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity, and it will last with the team and me forever.”

Now a Monument winner, in addition to his stage victories in the three Grand Tours, Mohorič is building a spectacular record, and he has much ahead of him. One-day races such as E3 Saxo Bank Classic, Ronde van Vlaanderen, Amstel Gold Race, Paris-Roubaix or Liège-Bastogne-Liège await him in the coming weeks.

Now, everyone is aware of his special skills and determination. That includes his rivals such as Dutchman Mathieu Van der Poel, who claimed an impressive 3rd place in Sanremo for his first race of the season. The Alpecin-Fenix rider will be eager to take revenge.

Pog & Rog, the destroyers

Before Mohorič flew to a triumphant win in Sanremo (his 16th victory as a professional, half of them in UCI WorldTour events), Pogačar and Roglič had dominated the first UCI WorldTour stage races of the season in more traditional fashion: destroying the opposition on the uphills, and with a bit of a scare for ‘Rogla’ on the final day.

The Slovenian leader of Jumbo-Visma returned to the Race to the Sun well aware of the many traps the week can set. Last year, he had shown impressive dominance with three stage wins, only to crash out of the yellow jersey during the final stage.

This time, Roglič was happy with a single stage win, up Col de Turini. His performance in the individual time-trial (2nd behind Wout van Aert) and Jumbo-Visma’s collective dominance put him in a perfect position ahead of the final challenges in the Nice hinterland. Still, “it never goes without a bit of drama”, the winner said with a smile of relief after he clinched the overall victory.

The riders were met with showers for the last day of the Race to the Sun, and a reduced bunch launched an all-day battle. With 49km to go, only five riders remained at the front, and Simon Yates (Team BikeExchange-Jayco) soloed to victory with a spectacular kick on the final ascent. Luckily for him, Roglič could count on an almighty Van Aert to carry him to the overall win.

On the same day, Pogačar’s ride to San Benedetto del Tronto was a much calmer one. Phil Bauhaus (Bahrain-Victorious) sprinted to the stage win while the Slovenian climber sealed his overall victory in Tirreno-Adriatico for the second year in a row.

All week long, he had been dominant, taking two stage wins: an uphill sprint to Bellante, and another one-man-show on the slopes around Carpegna. With seven victories already in 2022 (all of them in the UCI WorldTour), Pogačar is looking even more dominant than last year, when he took 13 victories (including a Grand Tour and two Monuments).

Milano-Sanremo saw him put on a spectacular show, but it also demonstrated that the rising Cannibal can still be beaten, albeit narrowly. His 5th place is the best result in the Primavera for a reigning Tour de France winner since Eddy Merckx was victorious in 1976. And now he’s gearing up for the cobbles of the Ronde van Vlaanderen!