"I was a little disappointed with my breakaway partner": Matej Mohoric mostly satisfied with bronze at gravel Worlds

Matej Mohoric won't look back at 2025 with the best memories. But in his last competitive start of the year, the Slovenian was able to give his difficult season a somewhat happy ending. A third place at the Gravel World Championships in Limburg were certainly one of the few highlights of Mohoric's 2025 campaign.

"If someone had asked me before leaving, I would have signed up for it," Mohoric told Bici.pro about the bronze medal afterwards. The former world champion in this new discipline would normally shoot for an even better result, but all things considered, a medal is a great success. Also since the route wasn't exactly tailor-made for the likes of Mohoric who would've preferred more punchy and technical segments.

"Because the route this year was even easier than last year. There were fewer sections where you could make the difference with your legs. Fewer technical sections, where the group stretches out. So there was more strategy, more tactics, from the teams' point of view."

"After an hour, a fairly dangerous breakaway of six or seven riders broke away, including many Belgians and teammates," he recounts. "I actually closed the gap, and then the four riders who would ultimately determine the race, including Florian Vermeersch, launched a counterattack. That's when I realized it was the key moment. But, as I said, the course wasn't easy to manage from that perspective"

Mohoric was able to join the select group that would battle it out for rainbow jersey, but ultimately crumbled against the numbers advantage of Begium who had three men in the front group and executed tactics perfectly to launch Florian Vermeersch on a solo ride to victory.

"It happened when I went with Tom Pidcock. He set the pace, and I went on the counterattack: it's difficult to close down everyone. In the end, when I was in front alone, I found my rhythm and my legs, which were good anyway. Even though I was very tired after the season, after the really demanding last few weeks."

Mohoric briefly also former a duo with Swissman Felix Stehli, but the continental-level rider of Team Vorarlberg simply didn't have the power Mohoric needed from him to chase down the escapees.

"I was a little disappointed that my breakaway partner, Swiss rider Stelhi, didn't have much of a chance. But I know he gave it his all: when he was pushing, you could see he was tired. He could have stayed on the wheel and not taken over, but instead he contributed. Maybe if Pidcock had been in his place, we could have even come back, even if it wasn't easy at all."

But at the end of the day, Mohoric openly admits that the new world champion is more than fitting with one of the strongest men at the start traking a well-deserved victory after a solid season.

"Florian was incredibly strong and in my opinion he was the number one favorite. He deserves this jersey. He's truly strong in this discipline. Already in Rwanda, at the World Championships, you can't imagine the work he did for Remco Evenepoel. You could see he was really doing well."