Matej Mohorič (Bahrain Victorious) took the final stage of the Renewi Tour in a final kilometre attack from a fractured peloton, beating Matteo Trentin (UAE Team Emirates) to second place and Søren Kragh Andersen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) to third, as Tim Wellens (UAE Team Emirates) claimed overall race victory.
Mohorič was part of a final group of four riders who broke free in the final kilometres of racing led by efforts from Kragh Andersen and Trentin, but Mohorič overpowered those two in a four-up sprint with a late attack.
Racing was suspended due to a protest from riders over the small and dangerous roads being used in the final stage, coordinated by race leader Wellens.
“The finish was super technical,” Mohorič said following the finish. “Actually, technical enough that riders were not sure if they wanted to take the risk of crashing and contest the finish. But at the end it was a tough call."
The riders were specifically unhappy with the final 5km of the route, leading to a concession from organisers that the general classification times would be taken before the final 5km, and there would be no overall time bonuses on the finish.
For Mohorič, the change left him in the frustrating situation of being unable to contest the overall race lead.
“We need to respect the organisation - we knew what the course was months in advance, so these decisions should be taken before and not during the race. We emphasised this stage from the very start of the race,” he explained.
“We knew I would defend myself in the time trial but this was the day when I could take advantage in the GC. Unfortunately for me, there were no time bonuses today so I remained in the GC where I was before the stage.
“But still, it’s a stage win so a very nice effort from the team. The guys did an incredible job with a leadout for the last climb [before the GC neutralisation] I tried to attack because I had good legs but I couldn’t make a difference, so congrats to Tim Wellems he’s rightfully won the GC of the stage race.”
Asked why he attacked late in the final sprint, Mohorič explained, "I knew it was a long way from the last corner and I also knew that I was on my hands on knees so I knew everyone behind me had even more lactate in their legs because of the nature of the course. It was always going to be tricky - you need to be in the first three positions to be able to contest the stage.
“Today was not about speed, it was more about speed and picking the right moment to start. I was a little bit lucky and super proud of this performance.”
Mohoric took aim at the UCI during the interview, arguing that the last minute was unfair to the racers and organisers alike.
“Today the peloton wanted to make a statement, it’s not an easy call, we knew the course in advance so it’s not completely fair to the organisers for us to do this. We felt sorry as riders to do this.
“But we feel it’s time to make a statement to maybe push the UCI and whoever makes the rules to make a little bit more precise the rules on what’s OK and not OK for stage races.
“If we expected a 20-rider group to go to finish it might not be a bad course, it may even be interesting… For a peloton this size this is not the ideal route.
“Maybe make rules that are more clear but first and foremost decide these things in advance not on the day of the race.”
At the point where the protest stopped racing, around 90km from the finish, there was a leading group of nine riders who had an advantage of 9:43, that advantage was whittled down until the peloton was split on the cobbles of Alden Biesen with 30km remaining. There, 16 riders bridged to the breakaway to form a group of 25 - including Jasper Philipsen, Wellens and Mohorič. They had a 30-second advantage with 25km remaining.
That gap resiliently into the final 17km where Mohorič made an aggressive attack, which was pulled back by the leading group. The effort was enough to split the leading group with a group of chasers forming 10 seconds behind.
With the general classification times set to be taken at the base of the Keiberg with 5km remaining, the preceding kilometres were charged as the main peloton caught back to the breakaway group.
Wellens found himself comfortably in the front of the lead group to take overall race victory - moments before the embers of the breakaway were swallowed by the main peloton. Wellens, however, was able to cruise to the finish line to enjoy his race victory.
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