Matej Mohoric "had Sonny in my mind all day long" during Paris-Roubaix roller-coaster performance

Bahrain - Victorious came into Paris-Roubaix as defending champions as Sonny Colbrelli took an epic win in the muddy sectors last year. Due to cardiac issues, the Italian wasn't able to defend his title, however the team was in good hands with Matej Mohoric on the helm.

After being in the front split early on in the day, despite with few teammates, Mohoric found himself in a strong position right from the start. The Slovenian's approach to the race was to never be on the backfoot, as he attacked with 120 kilometers to go before the two pelotons came together to then build a gap alongside Tom Devriendt, Laurent Pichon, Davide Ballerini and Casper Pedersen which reached over two minutes whilst the peloton was getting decimated across the cobbles.

“I can’t say I was unlucky today, but I could do without that puncture. Maybe, I could stay at the front much longer because we were getting along together and collaborating with the rider in front alongside me," he said. A puncture with 38 kilometers to go saw him dropped from the leading group and into the chasing group, however soon after he went on the attack once again, dragging eventual race winner Dylan van Baarle alongside.

Eventually though, he wasn't able to keep up with the pace of the INEOS Grenadiers rider when he accelerated in the final cobbled sectors, and with group companion Yves Lampaert crashing out of contention, he found himself in the reduced group which he had attacked.

"I wanted the podium for myself and the team, as we did a great race today, but at the sprint in the velodrome, I was without legs and energy left. More than this result was impossible to take today," he told. Despite finishing last in the group, Mohoric still gathered a strong fifth place, which is an addition to the successful spring he's had which saw an impressive win at Milano-Sanremo.

"I had Sonny in my mind all day long. I wanted to take a victory for him. We will try again next year, maybe with him," Mohoric concluded. He will still ride Liège-Bastogne-Liège in the coming weekend which will see him fight for another monument, however it is expected that the major results of his spring have already been highlighted.