Uphill. Downhill. I Like That.

Clever, goofy, charismatic, and fast, two-time world champion Peter Sagan may never win the Tour de France (he's not a climber) but he just might be the star who saves bike racing. BILL GIFFORD hung out with the Slovakian powerhouse in his spiritual home of Southern California and met a kid-on-wheels whose sense of fun has given the sport a much needed boost.

Peter Sagan is late, and the crowd is getting antsy. About 50 kids, ages seven to thirteen, are eyeing a row of gleaming new Specialized mountain bikes that are about to become theirs—if and when this “Peter” kid shows up. Small skirmishes break out as parents try to restrain their offspring from lunging at the precious pink and orange rides.

It’s November 2016, and Sagan is in Southern California to host an exclusive charity ride. Two hundred fans have ponied up as much as $3,000 apiece to spend the weekend rolling and schmoozing with the two time world champion, a 27-year-old from Slovakia who is the closest thing to a cycling celebrity since the days of you-know-who. The ride was supposed to benefit the Boys and Girls Clubs of America, including this bike giveaway to deserving local kids. But now the star and his entourage have gone AWOL somewhere on the grounds of the Westlake Village Inn, a romantic expanse of Tuscan-style villas, small lakes and bridges, and even a vineyard, which once played host to The Bachelorette.

Scanning the horizon desperately, the emcee, a young woman in a Boys and Girls Club T-shirt, grabs the microphone and tries a diversionary tactic. “Peter! Peter! Peter!” she chants. A few kids and parents join in, but then the noise dies down, having failed to produce Peter.

The emcee changes tack and asks a more basic question: “Can anybody raise their hand and tell me who Peter is?”

After some awkward silence, one boy pipes up: “He’s a man who races his own bike!” 

“Yes!” the host says, a little relieved. 

A little girl chimes in. “He’s Peter Pan!” 

Which is an even better answer, as we’ll soon see.