Mohoric wins a stage after search
Police scour Slovenian champ’s room
LIBOURNE, France — Matej Mohoric put a finger to his mouth then made a zip-the-lips gesture before he crossed the finish line.
Two days after police searched his hotel room at the Tour de France, the Slovenian champion had a message to his critics.
“It was a sign to show people that question our performances to be mindful that we are making huge sacrifices,” he said after posting a second stage win by surging solo from a breakaway group with a darting attack on Friday.
“It’s the biggest race in the world, and also today we had to make the point that we are one of the best teams in the world and that we are on an even playing field.”
Mohoric, who rides for the Bahrain Victorious team, made his move with 26 kilometers (16 miles) left in Stage 19 producing a tremendous individual effort.
His victory brought relief to his team, which was raided as part of a doping investigation. The Marseille prosecutor in charge of the case said a preliminary investigation targeting the team was opened on July 3 “for acquisition, transport, possession, import of a substance or method prohibited for use by an athlete without medical justification.”
None of the Bahrain Victorious riders competing at the Tour has been publicly accused of wrongdoing.
“I was thinking mostly about what happened two days ago,” Mohoric said, when asked about his thoughts in the final kilometer. “When I felt like a criminal with all the police coming to our hotel.
“From one point of view, it’s a good thing, because it means there are still controls in the peloton and they are checking all the teams. But from another point of view ... it’s not a nice thing when the police walk into your room and search all yourbelongings.”
About 25 officers from a special public health unit were involved in the search, and Mohoric’s team said it was asked for all of its training files.
Christophe Laporte was runner-up to Mohoric in Friday’s stage, 58 seconds off the pace.
Race leader Tadej Pogacar rode safely in the pack. Barring an accident, the UAE Team Emirates rider should be crowned Tour champion for the second straight year. Pogacar has a huge lead of nearly six minutes over Jonas Vingegaard in the general classification. Richard Carapaz is third.