"It’s a fact that I’m going to be more marked" - Matej Mohoric won't enjoy freedom which earned him 2022 win at Milano-Sanremo

Matej Mohoric is almost ready for what is one of the most important days of his season. The defending champion at Milano-Sanremo, he leads Bahrain - Victorious with the ambition of repeating the triumph, but admits he isn't in the same scenario as last year.

“I think it’s a fact that I’m going to be more marked. Although I don’t think it necessarily changes anything in my approach to the race," Mohoric said in an interview with CyclingWeekly. "I will still try to do the same thing, but I think there’s probably going to be some more people who will try to follow this time round. They might want to ride with me when we get off the Poggio, so we’ll see what happens.”

In 2022 Mohoric managed to climb the Poggio and summit it near the front, and then took advantage of the lack of commitment in the front group to bridge across and then launch his attack in the descent of the Poggio. His solo riding skills are terrific and he held on to the gap, which earned him the biggest win of his career. In 2023, everyone knows he's capable of doing that, and he will be a much more marked rider in the closing kilometers.

“San Remo is such a highly contested race that you can’t just let somebody go. If you let someone go, and nobody goes with them then they’re going to win the race," the Slovenian adds with some insight. "It’s such a short space of time when you finish the descent of the Poggio to the finish line. It’s basically two kilometres, so if anyone gets just three seconds advantage, then it’s finished.”

He's also aware that is his best possibility. The ascent of the Poggio will likely be attacked and with the presence of Tadej Pogacar, Wout van Aert and Julian Alaphilippe, it's hard to imagine anyone taking the risk earlier instead of trying to follow the slipstream on a climb where the average speeds will be very high.

“In my mind, yes, it will be the same," Mohoric says of the situation in the days leading up to the race. "Although of course the race might play out differently. Maybe there will be some attacks on the Cipressa, or a much slower pace there which will mean there could be a much bigger group hitting the Poggio.”

“Obviously that will change everything, but in my mind I won’t try anything crazy. I’m not going to wait for a sprint or attack on the Cipressa. The focus is still on the Poggio, just getting across the top as close to the front as possible, then we’ll see what happens," he concluded.