Peter Sagan defends his Tinkoff-Saxo winning record

Peter Sagan has played down his relative lack of form at the start of the 2015 season, in which the Slovakian has four victories, saying it's not as easy to win as he made it look early in his career.

The three-time Tour de France green jersey winner suffered what, for him, could be described as a barren run in 2014 and early 2015, following up his 22 wins in 2013 with 'just' seven the following year.

His last win in 2014 came at his national championships in June, before the Tour, and Sagan had to wait until March 16 this year to record his first win in the jersey.

Since then the 25-year-old has recorded a stunning overall win at the Amgen Tour of California, claiming two stages, as well as Monday's stage three at the Tour de Suisse.

His team manager, Oleg Tinkov publicly stated his disappointment that his star signing from Cannondale was not living up to his huge contract, but Sagan insists it's not entirely his fault.

"Agreed, I did not win often," he said in an interview in Het Nieuwsblad. "Sometimes by my own fault, sometimes because cycling is a sport in which you don't always win.

"A peloton consists of two hundred riders and not just two riders who want to win. That makes winning difficult."

For many cyclists, finishing in the top 10 on 24 occasions by the middle of June would be considered a pretty decent achievement, but still Sagan seems defined by how many races he wins.

One rider in the peloton that will be looking to pip Sagan to the line at the Tour de France is Mark Cavendish, who claimed the green jersey in 2011, before the Slovakian's spell of dominance.

Mark Cavendish talks to Cycling Weekly about his chances in the 2015 Tour de France