Milan-San Remo: Dropper post was Matej Mohorič’s secret weapon on winning Poggio descent

This article originally appeared on Velo_News

Matej Mohoric brought a secret weapon into Milan-San Remo on Saturday, and deployed a dropper seatpost to perfection to win the Italian monument with a daring, high-speed descent off the Poggio.

The Bahrain-Victorious rider said mechanics mounted a dropper seatpost on his winning Merida bike, and that it provided him the winning edge on his thrilling, race-winning descent off the Poggio.

Gallery: A close look the dropper post Matej Mohoric used to win Milan-San Remo

“Actually I was thinking about this race the whole winter. The team came up with the idea of using a dropper post because this race suits me very well and there’s a descent at the end,” Mohoric said. “The team set up a bike for me and had this plan for a long time.

“At first I didn’t think that it would make a huge difference on the descents but then I tried it in training and the first time I tried it I was amazed.”

Mohoric, already renowned as one of the peloton’s most efficient descenders, used a dropper seatpost that allows him to lower his center of gravity and provide more stability on the corners.

The technology has been around for years, and is used frequently in mountain biking. Mohoric powered over the top of the Poggio, and could be seen finding a lower, more aerodynamic position for his hulking body size as he powered down the twisting, diving descent toward the Via Roma.

He almost went off-course near the top of the descent, and was able to correct his line before crashing. Near the bottom within range of the finish line, it appeared that Mohoric might have dropped his chain, but he was able to power to victory.

Mohoric hinted before the race his bike was mounted with a secret weapon, and he said the dropper post played a key role in his victory.

“It gives you way more control of the bike and if you go full gas then you can go a little bit faster,” Mohoric said. “It’s even easier to avoid mistakes or correct them when they happen.”

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