There will be something missing from next year’s WorldTour. A Peter Sagan-shaped hole is set to open up as the enigmatic Slovak retires from top-level road racing. He won’t be gone completely though – he is staying on to target the mountain bike race in the Paris Olympics next year.
“You cannot put a lion in a cage,” says Sagan’s old boss at Bora-Hansgrohe, Ralph Denk. He was talking about letting the Slovak off the leash to enjoy mountain biking or skiing. But with Sagan’s recent retirement from the WorldTour, it feels like that metaphor has never been more apt. The ultimate uncaging.
Over the course of a wildly successful pro career Sagan, now 33, has earned the nicknames ‘Rambo’ and ‘the Terminator’, conjuring an image of someone you’d probably run a mile from before asking for an autograph.
And while as a pro rider trying to win races, Sagan was definitely not someone you would want to encounter at the sharp end of a tough one-dayer or a bunch sprint, his contemporaries paint a picture of a soft-spoken, diligent and sometimes playful person – not scary, at least until you tried to beat him to the line.
Oliver Naesen, who was a key rival for Sagan during the Slovak’s halcyon period, describes him as having “silent class”.
“He wasn’t a screamer,” says the Belgian Ag2r-Citroën rider, who has podiumed in races including Milan-San Remo, Ghent-Wevelgem and E3. "Even though he had the funky hair and, you know, the ski goggles and the podiums and all that.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der November 23, 2023-Ausgabe von Cycling Weekly.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent ? Anmelden
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der November 23, 2023-Ausgabe von Cycling Weekly.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent? Anmelden
"We tore around the Sydney suburbs at 60kph in a terrifying, feral pack"
Fast, furious and furry tales from Australia
RIDDEN AND REVIEWED BROMPTON G LINE £2,499
A Brompton for running riot in both town and country
How do different gravel conditions impact your tyre choice?
There are a myriad of tyres on the market but selecting the right one is easier than you think
FEAST OF SWEDEN
Soon after landing in Gothenburg, I began to realise how little I knew about Sweden.
THE WORLD'S GREATEST GRAVEL EVENTS
Globe-trotting gravel racer Joe Laverick chooses his eight favourite events, from coastal Wales to the wilds of Kenya
THE CALL OF THE WILD
Tempted to embark on a long-distance bike adventure? Let former round-the-world record holder and author Julian Sayarer inspire you to strike out and hit the road
Saint Piran accused of using non-UCI legal bikes
Cornish team also alleged to owe former staff tens of thousands of pounds
JOE LAVERICK GETTING INTO THE FEED ZONE
I've ridden through hundreds of feed zones in my time racing a bike.
Lowden not ready to stop after retirement
Former Hour record holder eyes UK time trial scene
Pogačar makes history (again) at Lombardia
Slovenian makes it four in a row at the late-season Italian Monument