Check Matej: Mohoric wins 19th stage of Tour de France

Matej Mohoric claimed the 19th stage at the Tour de France on Friday after breaking away 20km from the end of the 207km course between Mourenx and Libourne.

Matej Mohoric, winner of the seventh stage, added the 19th stage to his portfolio at the 2021 Tour de France. Thomas SAMSON AFP

The 26-year-old Bahrain Victorious rider took his second stage of the 2021 race in in four hours, 19 minutes and 17 seconds.

Christophe Laporte was 58 seconds behind in second place and Caspar Pedersen of Team DSM was third.

Mohoric ran his hand across his lips after crossing the finish line. His 'zip it' gesture was construed as a defiant response to the whispering an innuendo since an investigation was launched into allegations of doping in his team.

“I was thinking mostly about what happened two days ago, in the evening when I felt like a criminal with all the police coming to our hotel," said the Slovenian.

Checks

"From one point of view it’s a good thing, because it means there is the control over the peloton ... they are checking all the teams.

"But from another point of view, I’m a little bit disappointed with the system. It’s not a nice thing when the police walks into your room and starts just ... all your personal belongings. It never happened to me before and it feels a little bit weird.

"When they go through your family photos, through your phone, through your messages ... but at the end of the day I have nothing to hide. It’s OK at the end, I hope.”

Mohoric's compatriot, Tadej Pogacar, maintained his overall lead of the race ahead of Saturday's 30.8km time-trial between Libourne and Saint-Emilion.

Pogacar, who prised the yellow jersey off Primoz Roglic during last year's penultimate stage, enjoys a lead of five minutes and 45 seconds over second-placed Jonas Vingegaard. Richard Carapaz is third.