This year, Matej Mohoric (Bahrain Victorious) won the 19th stage of the Tour de France, a stage in the Tour of Poland, and the World Gravel Championship, but he doesn’t see himself as a cyclist among the so-called “absolute top.”
However, Matej Mohoric, who would certainly be on an honorable list, explains to the Belgian website Bahamontes how the peloton views the top cyclists of the moment. “I don’t feel like an exceptional rider, and I don’t belong to the ‘aliens’: Pogacar, Van Aert, Evenepoel, Van der Poel. That’s how we call them in the peloton: ‘the aliens.’ I’m usually one of the mere mortals, but put me on the list, and it can be seen that my results are not as good.”
Impostor Syndrome
“There’s a big difference between how you see yourself; I mainly see my failures, and how the outside world sees you. Competitors mainly see their successes. Impostor Syndrome is common among many cyclists, up to 40%, I think. Sometimes they don’t know how good they are.”
“I exploit the discrepancy between your own view and that of others to win. If I’m on the edge, about to give up, many competitors think I can sustain such an unsustainable pace for a long time. That’s not true. In the end of a tough competition, mental strength is the decisive factor.”