| MOHORIČ CLAIMED OVERALL VICTORY AT CRO RACE |
| Bahrain Victorious takes the CRO Race General Classification for the second consecutive year, as Matej Mohorič sprinted to second place on the final stage 6. |
Ahead of the conclusive day (166 km from Sveta Nedelja to Zagreb), Matej Mohorič was second in the general classification, 8 seconds behind the leader Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo Visma) and with the same time as Oscar Onley (DSM) 3rd.
|
| Having nothing to lose from the start, TBV riders gave everything to try to overtake the GC leader and win the red jersey after winning it with Stevie Williams in 2021. |
| The first attempt to retrieve seconds was successful as Mohorič won the first intermediate sprint, ahead of Onley (DSM) and Jonathan Milan, and took three bonus seconds, bringing the virtual gap in the GC down to only 5 seconds. |
|
|
Jumbo Visma reacted by placing one rider in the 5-man day’s breakaway to avoid Mohorič taking more precious seconds from their leader. But the breakaway was caught back with 10 km to go, and the next attack of the green jersey Guerin (Team Voralberg) for KOM points was also neutralised.
|
| As expected, seeing the short gap among GC contenders, the race could still be decided on the last day, where riders had also to face a technical and hilly circuit with cobbles in the town of Zagreb. TBV riders perfectly controlled the finale, with Jonathan Milan leading out Matej Mohorič to sprint to second place behind Elia Viviani (Ineos Grenadiers). |
|
|
Thanks to these precious bonus seconds, our Slovenian rider took the General Classification with only one second over Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) 2nd and 7 seconds ahead of Oscar Onley (Team DSM) 3rd: |
“It looks almost impossible on paper to get enough bonification seconds to win overall, but my team was fantastic today. Bahrain Victorious did perfect work the whole day, controlling the race from the start. It was hard, as many attacks were coming. But we immediately win the first bonification sprint with Jonathan in third and me. Then Milan did a perfect lead-out in the final, so I could bring home second place even though I am not a pure sprinter. I’m very grateful to my team for this. I think more than half the victory is that. I would never make it without them. I didn’t do it by myself, and Team Bahrain Victorious did it. It was a perfect day for us”.
|
|
|
| Besides the red jersey, Bahrain Victorious also secured the points classification with Jonathan Milan, winning this edition’s blue jersey. Today’s results are wrapping up a very successful week for the team, with two victories and a podium result on each stage. |
| “We controlled this race from start to finish”, Bahrain Victorious Sports Director Gorazd Stangelj commented. “What could be better? We won two stages, the GC and the blue jersey. We fought all week, didn’t have much help, and did most of the job. |
| I knew that this race would be decided on the bonus seconds. So it was something we took care of collecting bonuses throughout the week. |
| We worked a lot, and the team was super strong, not only on paper but also on the field. What to say? I’m super happy. Probably someone not, but this is cycling. Sometimes you win, and sometimes you lose only for one second; this time, we were the luckiest”. |
| (All pictures can be used for editorial and non-commercial usages only and are copyright @Sprintcycling @TeamBahrainVictorious) |
