Born inŽilina, Peter Sagan is the youngest child among three brothers and a sister. He was brought up by his sister as his parents spent most of the day taking care of a small grocery shop they own in his hometown. His older brotherJuraj Sagan was also a professional cyclist, and was also a member of the TotalEnergies team.[13]
Sagan started to ride bikes at the age of nine when he joined Cyklistický spolok Žilina, a small local club in his home town.[14] Throughout his junior years Sagan rode both mountain bikes and road bikes, and was well known for his unconventional style of riding in tennis shoes and T-shirts and drinking just pure water. Sagan drew a significant amount of attention when he appeared at the Slovak Cup with a bicycle borrowed from his sister. Sagan had mistakenly sold his own and had not received a spare from the Velosprint sponsor in time. He won the race despite riding a supermarket bike with poor brakes and limited gearing.[15][16][17]
Sagan's first professional cycling opportunity came along when he was hired by theDukla Trenčín–Merida team, a Slovak outfit in the Continental (third) division. In 2008, he won the Mountain Bike Junior World Championship inVal di Sole. That same year he also finished second in thejunior race at theUCI Cyclo-cross World Championships inTreviso andParis–Roubaix Juniors.[18] Sagan was focused on continuing his career as a mountain bike rider, but his management company Optimus Agency approached several professional road cycling teams. They received four answers to bring young Sagan for testing. The first three-day test was performed inQuick-Step but Sagan failed to secure a contract.[19] His frustration was so deep that he decided to quit road cycling, however pressed by his family he gave it a try withLiquigas–Doimo and succeeded.
In November 2009, Liquigas'sStefano Zanatta, Paolo Slongo and Enrico Zanardo offered Sagan, who spoke neither Italian or English, a ten-month contract valued at €1,000 per month.[20] The agreement was later replaced by a two-year contract for 2010 and 2011 with an option to ride mountain bikes forCannondale. Liquigas doctors and managers were stunned by results of Sagan's medical tests, saying that they had never seen a 19-year-old rider as physically strong and capable. During the training camp Sagan destroyed more mountain bikes than any other rider due to his ability to put a bike through its paces. This earned him the nickname "Terminator".[21]
I do not want to be the second Eddy Merckx. I want to be the first Peter Sagan.
Sagan at a press conference in Slovakia on numerous comparisons of him toEddy Merckx[22]
Liquigas selected Sagan for his firstUCI ProTour road race, theTour Down Under in January at the age of 19. He was involved in a crash during the second stage but kept riding with 17 stitches in his arm and left thigh. In the queen stage toWillunga he joined an attack over the last climb withCadel Evans,Alejandro Valverde andLuis León Sánchez. The four fought to hold off the sprinters' group over the next 20 kilometres (12 miles), with Sánchez taking the win.[23] Sagan won his two ProTour stages duringParis–Nice, a race he was not initially nominated for, but joined the team after his teammateMaciej Bodnar broke his collarbone.[24] His first stage win was gained on the third stage, when Sagan joined a move initiated byNicolas Roche on the final climb and out-sprinted Roche andJoaquim Rodríguez for the stage win inAurillac. The result also gave Sagan the lead in thepoints classification, giving him the green jersey.[25] Sagan's second win came from a solo attack on the fifth stage intoAix-en-Provence. Attacking three kilometres from the finish, on a steep climb, Sagan was able to hold off the peloton to claim the win.[26]
Sagan at the2010 Tour of California, where he finished eighth overall as well as winning the sprints and young rider classifications.
Following a stage win at theTour de Romandie,[27] Sagan next raced at theTour of California, where he won the fifth and sixth stages, coming in with the overall contenders each time.[28][29] Lying third overall in the general classification, Sagan lost more than a minute in the 33.5-kilometre (20.8-mile)individual time trial on the penultimate day,[30] and ultimately finished eighth overall; he won the young rider and sprints classifications.[31] Sagan finished fourth in the opening prologue of theTour de Suisse, only three seconds behindFabian Cancellara, but finished almost 11 minutes down in the second stage and did not take the start the following day alleging severe fatigue.[32] He planned to ride several late season races includingParis–Tours and theGiro di Lombardia but an intestinal issue forced him out of the former and weakened him in the latter.[33]
Liquigas–Doimo became the renamedLiquigas–Cannondale for the 2011 season, and at a team training camp in December 2010, Sagan said that his first goal for the season wasMilan–San Remo.[34] After beginning his season with some solid placings in a couple of Italian one-day races, Sagan won three of the five stages at theGiro di Sardegna, and won both the overall and the points classification, narrowly hanging on to beatJosé Serpa by three seconds in the general classification.[35] During theTour of California, he won stage 5 as he ultimately won the sprints classification for the second straight year.[36] In June he took part in theTour de Suisse starting off with a third place in the opening prologue. He then won the third stage, a mountain stage, showing his versatility when he caughtDamiano Cunego on the descent of theGrosse Scheidegg and then outsprinted him in the dash to the finish line.[37] Sagan managed two other podium placings in the flat stages with an uphill sprint finish before winning stage 8 in another bunch sprint; he won the points classification at the race as well.[38][39]
Sagan rode theTour de Pologne as a preparation for theVuelta a España, his firstGrand Tour appearance. He took the leader's jersey after winning stages 4 and 5.[40][41] Although he lost the lead toDan Martin after a difficult finish of stage 6,[42] he managed to regain it on the final day of the race thanks to bonus seconds earned on the stage.[43] He also claimed the points classification.[39][44] Sagan then won three stages at the Vuelta a España; on stage 6, he caused a split in the small lead group by leading them down the final descent crouched on his bike to increase speed. Only three teammates andPablo Lastras (Movistar Team) were able to keep up, and Sagan went on to win the sprint.[45] After winning stage 12 in a sprint finish,[46] his next objective was the final stage inMadrid, which he won by a narrow margin ahead ofDaniele Bennati andAlessandro Petacchi.[47]
Sagan began the season in good form, winning a stage and the points classification in theTour of Oman.[48][49] Sagan won Stage 4 ofTirreno–Adriatico,[50] and also played a key role in helpingVincenzo Nibali win the event overall. Sagan's good form continued into the classics season, with fourth place inMilan–San Remo,[51] second inGent–Wevelgem,[52] a stage victory in theThree Days of De Panne,[53] fifth in theTour of Flanders,[54] and third in theAmstel Gold Race.[55] On the first stage of theTour of California, Sagan had a puncture with 7 kilometres (4.3 miles) to go. He worked his way back to the bunch and avoided a crash that occurred with 3 kilometres (1.9 miles) left. His teammateDaniel Oss piloted him in the last few kilometres, and Sagan out sprinted his rivals, taking the stage win.[56] On Stage 2, Sagan crashed on the Empire Grade climb, but he was able to return to the peloton for the sprint finish; he was first out of the final corner and accelerated to the finish, taking his second victory in a row.[57] On the third stage, Sagan took his third consecutive victory ahead ofHeinrich Haussler (Garmin–Barracuda),[58] before doing the same on the fourth stage.[59] Sagan took his fifth stage win on the final day inLos Angeles, to win the sprints classification.[60][61] By doing so, he took the record for most stage wins at the race, with eight.[61][62]
"I have never seen a rider like him. I do not think anyone has. He is the first-of-a-kind rider. You can expect everything because he can win what he wants. Anything. If he wins the Tour de France someday, it will not be a surprise to me. Watch out."
Sagan demonstrated good form once again in theWorld Tour classifiedTour de Suisse by winning four stages and the points classification. He kicked things off with a win in the opening prologue, besting local favourite and time trial specialistFabian Cancellara (RadioShack–Nissan) by 4 seconds over the 7.3-kilometre (4.5-mile) course.[64] His next win came on a rainy stage 3, where the peloton caught the final two escapees inside the final kilometre. Sagan's foot came out of his pedal in one of the last bends, but he managed to stay upright and passOrica–GreenEDGE'sBaden Cooke before the line for the victory.[65] With about 350 metres (1,150 feet) to go on the fourth stage,Marcus Burghardt ofBMC Racing Team launched a sprint for the finish line in rainy conditions. Sagan jumped out of his teammate's wheel to get into Burghardt's slipstream and sailed past him to take the win. He thanked his team for their efforts afterward, especiallyMoreno Moser.[66] The next win came on stage 6, the last stage of the Tour which was suited to the sprinters. The final kilometres inBischofszell were filled with urban obstacles such as roundabouts and sharp bends, and Sagan stayed towards the head of the bunch. With 200 metres (660 feet) to go, Sagan took a left bend with a small patch of cobbles in it at full speed. He scraped the barriers as he came out of the corner but sprinted his way to victory. When asked about the seemingly close call he had, Sagan stated that "you need to invent something to find some space [...]".[67]
Sagan started theTour de France by finishing in 53rd place on the prologue after losing some time in the corners. He won thefirst stage inSeraing atop a small climb after breaking away with a little more than a kilometre to go withFabian Cancellara (RadioShack–Nissan) and out sprinting him andEdvald Boasson Hagen (Team Sky).[68] According to Sagan's SRM file, in the final 1.5 kilometres (0.93 miles) when Cancellara initiated the move, Sagan ramped up his cadence to over 120 rpm to stay with him and averaged 493 watts of power in the last 2 minutes 20 seconds of the race. His power output maximum in the finale was 1,236 watts, and he averaged 970 watts in the last 200 metres.[69] OnStage 3, he went clear on the final Category 4 climb inBoulogne-sur-Mer sprinting away and leaving the field behind.[70] As Sagan crossed the finish line, he performed a "running man" salute akin to the eponymous character portrayed byTom Hanks in 1994 filmForrest Gump.[71] He won again onStage 6, which had a course suited for a bunch sprint; he beat pure sprintersAndré Greipel ofLotto–Belisol andMatthew Goss of theOrica–GreenEDGE squad by around a bike length inMetz.[72] He finished the Tour with three stage wins and as winner of thepoints classification, also earning the "most combative" rider award on the mountainousStage 14.[73] He won a Porsche since he made a bet with the Liquigas management that he could win two stages and the points classification.[74]
In 2013, Sagan's team changed its name toCannondale, since Liquigas ended its cycling sponsorship after eight years.[76] Sagan started his season at theTour de San Luis, finishing second toMattia Gavazzi on the final stage.[77] He took his first victory of the season on the second stage of theTour of Oman, as he broke away from a chasing group in the final kilometres, joined and dropped three escapees before soloing to the win.[78] He won again the following day, on the same parcours as the second stage of the2012 Tour of Oman, which he had also won.[79] Before the start of stage 5, he withdrew due tobronchitis.[80] He won his comeback race, theGran Premio Città di Camaiore, by out sprinting a group of twelve riders.[81] He finished second atStrade Bianche, behind his teammateMoreno Moser; Sagan covered the late break attempts to help Moser's bid for victory, then attacked himself to complete a one-two for Cannondale.[82] He went on to win stages 3 and 6 ofTirreno–Adriatico; on stage 3, he out sprintedMark Cavendish andAndré Greipel in the pouring rain after his team accelerated the race's speed on a small climb nearing the finish.[83] On stage 6, Sagan survived a climb featuring a section at a 30% incline, and formed a breakaway with former teammateVincenzo Nibali andJoaquim Rodríguez, beating both in the sprint.[84]
Sagan's form meant he enteredMilan–San Remo as the favourite for victory, however, he was beaten into second place in the sprint byMTN–Qhubeka'sGerald Ciolek.[85] He wonGent–Wevelgem, which had been shortened by 90 kilometres (56 miles) due to extremely cold weather. Sagan broke away from a group of ten riders with 4 kilometres (2.5 miles) remaining and won solo, performing a series of wheelies after crossing the line.[86] Two days later, Sagan carried his form to theThree Days of De Panne, where he won a close sprint on the first stage ahead ofArnaud Démare ofFDJ. Démare complained to the race officials that Sagan had swerved slightly in the final metres, but the race result was not altered.[87] Sagan finished second at theTour of Flanders after breaking away withFabian Cancellara and joiningJürgen Roelandts. Cancellara attacked on the last climb, the Paterberg, dropped Sagan and went on to win solo.[88] Sagan caused some controversy on the podium by pinching the bottom ofpodium girl Maja Leye,[89] and after a media backlash, he apologised the next day.[90] Prior to theBrabantse Pijl, Sagan apologised in person to Leye and gave her a flower bouquet.[91] He then went on to win the race, where he chased an attack byGreg Van Avermaet in the final kilometres. OnlyPhilippe Gilbert could follow, and Sagan was faster in the final sprint.[92] His next win came in May on stage 3 of theTour of California, when he beatMichael Matthews in the sprint finish, finding a passage on the right side of the road.[93] He concluded the race by winning the last stage inSanta Rosa, securing the sprints classification jersey for the fourth year in a row.[94]
On stage 3 of theTour de Suisse, Sagan made the selection on the first-category Hasliberg climb along withRui Costa,Roman Kreuziger, andMathias Frank, and took the stage victory from the quartet.[95] Sagan cemented his victory in the points classification by taking the eighth stage, which was flatter and more suited to the sprinters, ahead ofDaniele Bennati and Gilbert.[96] He then went on to win theSlovak National Road Race Championships for the third time, taking the national champion's jersey to theTour de France.[97] At the Tour de France, Sagan scored three second-place finishes before winning stage 7 toAlbi, after his team worked to shed the pure sprinters on the Category 2Col de la Croix de Mounis. He outsprinted the select group he was part of, crossing the line beforeJohn Degenkolb.[98] Sagan retained the green jersey as leader of thepoints classification to Paris and dyed his beard green to underline that victory.[99] He then went on to win the sprints classification and numerous stages in theUSA Pro Cycling Challenge (4 stage wins) and theTour of Alberta (2 stage wins). Sagan fell short of success in theGrand Prix Cycliste de Québec where he accelerated on one of the final climbs but faded in sight of the finishing line. Two days later, he took victory in theGrand Prix Cycliste de Montréal, escaping the leading group on a climb with 5 kilometres (3.1 miles) to go and winning solo.[100]
Sagan won the penultimate stage of theTour of California,[115] and also won the sprints classification, for the fifth successive year. In the first week of theTour de France, Sagan scored seven consecutive top-5 stage finishes without registering a victory, a feat that had not been recorded sinceCharles Pélissier had eight successive top five stage finishes in1914.[116] The seventh of those results came in a sprint withMatteo Trentin, where Sagan had to settle for second by a few millimetres in the photo finish.[117] Sagan went on to compete in theClásica de San Sebastián but withdrew.[118] He then headed to theVuelta a España and had a difficult first week, his first notable result coming with a third place on Stage 8.[119] He later withdrew from the race on Stage 14.[120] He made his return at theCoppa Bernocchi, where he acted as a lead-out man for teammateElia Viviani, who won.[121]
In early August 2014, Sagan and his older brotherJuraj Sagan signed a three-year contract withTinkoff–Saxo starting in 2015.[122] The team's owner Oleg Tinkov confirmed Sagan's salary reached €4.5 million a year.[123] In November 2014, Sagan climbedMount Kilimanjaro with his new team as a team-building experience.[124]
Sagan started his season at theTour of Qatar, taking his first podium spots with second-place finishes on stages four,[125] and five,[126] and won the young rider classification.[127] After a winlessTour of Oman, Sagan finished second on the first two road stages ofTirreno–Adriatico.[128][129] On Stage 6, Sagan took his first win inTinkoff–Saxo colours in a rainy, flat stage.[130] He finished the race as winner of thepoints classification.[131] He sprinted to fourth place atMilan–San Remo,[132] while atE3 Harelbeke, Sagan got clear of the main group withGeraint Thomas andZdeněk Štybar on theOude Kwaremont with 41 kilometres (25 miles) left, but faded to 30th following Thomas' attack with 4 kilometres (2.5 miles) to go.[133] He finished tenth at an attritionalGent–Wevelgem,[134] before a fourth-place finish at theTour of Flanders, after he faded in the closing kilometres.[135] AtParis–Roubaix, he was in a group chasing the leaders, but lost time following a mechanical and subsequent bike change, ultimately finishing 23rd.[136]
After a break from competition, Sagan returned at May'sTour of California. On the first two stages, he finished second toMark Cavendish.[137][138] On stage 3, Sagan led the peloton across the line behind breakaway winnerToms Skujiņš, maintaining his second-place overall standing.[139] Sagan won the fourth stage ahead ofWouter Wippert and Cavendish; as he crossed the finish, Sagan banged his front wheel twice on the tarmac and celebrated with a no-footed wheelie.[140] Third on stage five, Sagan took the race lead with victory on the sixth stage, a 10.6-kilometre (6.6-mile)individual time trial starting and finishing at theSix Flags Magic Mountain theme park.[141] After losing the overall lead toJulian Alaphilippe the next day on a mountainous finish toMount Baldy Ski Lifts,[142] Sagan usurped Alaphilippe by taking five bonus seconds during the final stage toPasadena, taking a three-second victory in the general classification.[143]
Sagan returned to racing at theTour de Suisse. He finished fourth on the opening time trial, before taking victory on the third stage; his teammateRafał Majka nullified several attacks in the closing kilometres, before Sagan outsprinted the reduced group to the finish line.[144] Second the following day,[145] Sagan won the sixth stage in a bunch sprint for his eleventh stage victory at the race, equalling the record ofHugo Koblet andFerdinand Kübler.[146] With a further second-place finish on the seventh stage,[147] Sagan won the race's points classification.[148] He won both theSlovak National Time Trial Championships,[149] and theSlovak National Road Race Championships in his hometown ofŽilina.[150]
In theTour de France, after he suffered a flat tyre and caught back up to the 25-rider lead group, Sagan took second position on Stage 2 behindAndré Greipel.[151] On the fourth stage, Sagan sprinted to third position after protecting his leaderAlberto Contador on the cobbles during the stage.[152] On the fifth stage, he again came second to Greipel,[153] and was also second on the sixth stage, after Štybar went solo on the last small climb before the finish.[154] He was third to Cavendish and Greipel on the seventh stage,[155] and second toGreg Van Avermaet on the thirteenth stage.[156] On the next stage, Sagan was part of the breakaway, amassing maximum points at the intermediate sprint and finishing fifth.[157] On Stage 15, Sagan featured again in the breakaway and took fourth position in the final sprint; he won the day'scombativity award for his efforts.[158] On Stage 16,Rubén Plaza (Movistar Team) escaped the leading group on theCol de Manse, and Sagan attempted to chase him down on the descent intoGap, but to no avail as Plaza soloed to victory. Sagan came in second and was awarded 'most combative' of the day again.[159] Sagan amassed five second places during the Tour de France, and won thepoints classification by a margin of 66 points over Greipel.[160]
Sagan broke his Grand Tour victory drought at theVuelta a España by outsprintingNacer Bouhanni andJohn Degenkolb on the third stage.[161] On the next stage he finished second to Alejandro Valverde in a punchy finish.[162] On the eighth stage, a race organisation motorcycle, which was overtaking the peloton, caused Sagan to crash.[163] Although Sagan finished the stage, he was forced to retire from the race while leading the points classification.[164] The following month, he won theroad race at theUCI Road World Championships after attacking on a short cobbled climb around 2 kilometres (1.2 miles) from the finish line.[165] He finished the season at theAbu Dhabi Tour, where he recorded two second-place finishes.[166]
Sagan started his season at theTour de San Luis, taking his first podium place of the year on Stage 2 by finishing second.[167] In February, after a three-week training camp in Spain'sSierra Nevada, he competed in the opening races of the Belgian classics season, finishing second inOmloop Het Nieuwsblad and seventh inKuurne–Brussels–Kuurne.[168] He then came in fourth at theStrade Bianche, being part of the four-man decisive move, but was dropped on the final climb to Siena.[169] He took part inTirreno–Adriatico, where he finished second overall, one second behindGreg Van Avermaet, and also won the points classification.[170] Sagan claimed his eighth second-place finish following his World Championship win atE3 Harelbeke, before taking his first win as world champion atGent-Wevelgem,[171] becoming the first reigning world champion to win the race sinceRik Van Looy in1962.[172] Upon his win at Gent–Wevelgem, Sagan became the number one-ranked rider in theUCI Men's road racing world ranking.[173]
Sagan continued his successes by taking his first Monument victory at theTour of Flanders, dropping his last opponentSep Vanmarcke on thePaterberg and soloing the last 14 kilometres (8.7 miles) of the race solo. He dedicated the win toAntoine Demoitié andDaan Myngheer, two cyclists that had died in the weeks prior to the race.[174] A week later, he took part inParis–Roubaix, finishing eleventh after a split in the peloton occurred. During the race, he avoided a crash by Fabian Cancellara directly in front of him, bybunny hopping over his bike, despite having only one foot clipped into his pedals at the time.[175] In theTour of California, Sagan won on stages one – a bunch sprint finish – and four, where the finish was contested atMazda Raceway Laguna Seca.[176][177] On stage 7, he was part of the breakaway, went solo from 50 kilometres (31 miles) remaining to cover and was caught with 20 kilometres (12 miles) to go; he ultimately finished second toAlexander Kristoff.[178] He clinched the sprints classification with another second-place finish on the final stage.[179] At theTour de Suisse, Sagan took his record twelfth stage victory with a win on the second stage aroundBaar.[180] He also won the next day, joining the late breakaway after attacking the reduced peloton at the end of a climb, and outsprintedMichael Albasini andSilvan Dillier.[181]
If I lose yellow, I have green. If I lose the green jersey, I have the rainbow jersey.
Sagan at a press conference after winning his first yellow jersey at the2016 Tour de France[182]
In the first stage of theTour de France, Sagan came in third.[183] He then won the second stage,[184] which featured a finish on a category 3 climb, to claim his first yellow jersey as leader of the general classification; he was unaware he had won upon reaching the finish line, thinking more riders from the breakaway had crossed the line before him.[184] Sagan was part of the breakaway on stage 10; he finished second toMichael Matthews and won the most combative award for his efforts.[185] On the next stage, Sagan broke away with teammateMaciej Bodnar, yellow jersey wearerChris Froome and his teammateGeraint Thomas in the final kilometres. He outsprinted Froome to foil the sprinters' plans. After the stage, asked why he undertook such a daring move, he said: "We are artists".[186] Sagan claimed his third stage victory by winning stage 16 inBern, beating Kristoff in the sprint by few centimetres.[187] He finished second to Greipel on the last stage, finishing onthe Champs-Élysées, securing his green jersey.[188] He also won thecombativity award for the race.[189]
After it was announced thatTinkoff would disband at the end of the 2016 season, Sagan's agent Giovanni Lombardi negotiated a new contract withBora–Hansgrohe. According to Oleg Tinkov, Sagan was expected to earn €6 million a year.[198][199]
Peter Sagan affects the way everyone races. He is the best bike rider in the world. What is going to affect how people race is how well or not he is going.
Sagan began the 2017 season at theTour Down Under,[200] where he finished in second place on stages 3, 4, and 6.[201] After training for the next few weeks, Sagan finished in second place atOmloop Het Nieuwsblad to Olympic Road Race ChampionGreg Van Avermaet.[202] The following day, Sagan attacked the breakaway in the final few hundred metres to take his first victory of the season atKuurne–Brussels–Kuurne. This also marked the first victory for the renamedBora–Hansgrohe team, and was Sagan's 90th career win.[203] Sagan enteredStrade Bianche as a race favourite, but following a crash roughly 75 kilometres (47 miles) into the race, he abandoned 20 kilometres (12 miles) later citing illness. Sagan claimed he possibly needed stitches to his hand following that crash and would hope to be ready for the start of his next race later in the week.[204] Sagan achieved his second victory of the season by sprinting to the line ahead of the pack in Stage 3 ofTirreno–Adriatico.[205] Sagan sprinted to another victory on the fifth stage,[206] and ultimately won the points classification despite an incident during the finaltime trial stage of the race, when a woman and her dog abruptly crossed his path and he had to swerve in avoidance.[207]
AtMilan–San Remo, Sagan initiated a move on the slope of thePoggio di San Remo near the finish, with onlyMichał Kwiatkowski andJulian Alaphilippe able to follow. Kwiatkowski had the better of him in the end after a close sprint on the Via Roma, and Sagan finished in second place.[208] Sagan entered theTour of Flanders in hopes of defending his title. With 55 kilometres (34 miles) to go,Philippe Gilbert attacked the peloton in a solo breakaway. In an attempt to close that gap, Sagan began to chase with rival Van Avermaet. With 16.9 kilometres (10.5 miles) to go and 59 seconds down, Sagan's handlebar was caught on a jacket draped over the spectator barrier on theOude Kwaremont causing him to crash, and ruining his chances of victory.[209] In theTour de Suisse, Sagan took another two stage victories on stages 5 and 8,[210][211] and won the points classification for the sixth time.
Sagan won the third stage of theTour de France from an uphill sprint inVittel.[212] After the bunch sprint finish of stage four, in which Sagan placed second, he was disqualified after race officials judged that he caused Mark Cavendish to crash, with the jury president Philippe Marien saying that he "endangered some of his colleagues seriously".[213][214] Before the crash, Cavendish tried to squeeze through a space that he saw was closing. Opinions have been largely negative on whether Sagan should be disqualified from the race.[215] The opinion of many commentators and former riders was that a disqualification is not justified and even senseless.[216] Months after the Tour de France, Sagan was officially exonerated by the UCI.[217] Cavendish withdrew from the race later that day due to his injuries.[218] Following his disqualification from the Tour de France, Sagan turned his focus to theTour de Pologne, where he won Stage 1.[219] He also stated he would skip theVuelta a España, opting to train for an unprecedented third consecutive victory at theUCI Road World Championships in Norway. In September, Sagan sprinted to his 100th career victory at theGrand Prix Cycliste de Québec.[220] Two weeks later, Sagan won theroad race at the UCI Road World Championships in a bunch sprint, ahead of Norway'sAlexander Kristoff and Australia'sMichael Matthews, to become the first male rider to win three consecutive world road race titles.[221][222]
One week later he finished sixth in theTour of Flanders.[233] On 8 April, Sagan wonParis–Roubaix with an attack at 55 kilometres (34 miles) from the finish to join an earlier break.[234] OnlySilvan Dillier could keep up and Sagan beat Dillier in a two-up sprint on theRoubaix Velodrome. He closed his classics campaign with fourth place in theAmstel Gold Race.[235] In theTour de France, Sagan finished 2nd on the opening stage behindFernando Gaviria.[236] In Stage 2, Sagan won the stage and earned the green jersey and wore it for the rest of the tour.[237] Sagan also won Stages 5[238] and 13,[239] before he crashed on a descent during stage 17,[240] but ultimately won thepoints classification for a record-equalling sixth time.[241]
On 27 January 2023, Sagan announced that at the end of the 2023 season, he would retire from road cycling and aim to qualify for the2024 Summer Olympics incross-country cycling.[274][275] He finished second toMatúš Štoček at the Slovak National Road Race Championships, despite crashing in the final sprint.[276] On 1 October 2023, Sagan apparently concluded his career as a professional road cyclist with a ninth-place finish at theTour de Vendée.[277]
Heart surgery and surprise return to the road (2024)
After retiring from the road to focus on qualifying for the 2024 Olympics mountain bike competition, Sagan was diagnosed with anomaloustachycardia, a cardiac arrhythmia and acutebradycardia[citation needed] in February 2024. He subsequently had two rounds of heart surgery.[278] Having missed the start of the mountain bike season, Sagan returned to road racing, signing for theUCI Continental teamPierre Baguette. He competed at the2024 Tour de Hongrie as part of an attempt to rebuild fitness.[279][280] While Sagan did not recover in time to be able to enter the Olympics, he was able to then finish his racing career in his home country, at the2024 Tour of Slovakia.[281]
In April 2021, Sagan was drunk, riding as a passenger with his older brotherJuraj Sagan inMonaco when the pair were stopped by the police as they were in violation of a curfew due to theCOVID-19 pandemic in Monaco. The younger Sagan "struggled like a madman" during the incident giving a policeman a minor injury. The pair were arrested for violating curfew.[289] He later apologised for the incident and was fined €6,600; he stated that he feared he was going to be taken to the hospital against his will and forcibly vaccinated.[290] In an interview with Spanish sports publicationMarca, Sagan responded to the state of the sport during theCOVID-19 pandemic, stating that "without people, cycling is different and worse".[291]
The asteroid 27896 Tourminator was named by its discoverer, the astrophysicistAdrián Galád, after one of Sagan's nicknames.[292] The name Sagan was already taken by the asteroid2709 Sagan named after the astronomerCarl Sagan.
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UCI Road World Champions –Men's road race
