Peter Sagan wants Niki Terpstra to continue at TotalEnergies rather than retire
The three-time world champion says he wants to talk to the two-time Monument winner if he wishes to continue riding
Peter Sagan has said he is keen to speak to Niki Terpstra if the Dutch rider wishes to continue with the team as Sagan says he would bring "great value" to the Classics team.
Sagan, who is joining Team TotalEnergies in 2022 from Bora-Hansgrohe, wants the two-time Monument winner Niki Terpstra to stay at the French team if he wants to continue racing.
In an interview with RIDE Magazine, Sagan said: "I heard rumours that Niki wanted to end his career after this season. But if he wants to continue his career, I definitely want to talk to him."
Terpstra was signed in 2019 as one of the big-name leaders for the French UCI ProTeam but a series of nasty crashes and injuries have meant that he has not performed the way he would have liked.
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This has led to rumours that the 37-year-old rider may be looking to retire at the end of the season, although he recently had a good finish at the Arctic Race of Norway where he finished second on the final stage behind Philipp Walsleban (Alpecin-Fenix) as well as second in the mountain standings.
"Certainly with a view to the Flemish classics, he can be of great value," continued Sagan. "Niki is an experienced man in the spring races. He could play an important role in the team. But of course, it's not my decision whether he can stay. The team has to make that decision."
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Terpstra has won both the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix, as well as multiple semi-Classics, during his time at Deceuninck - Quick-Step but has struggled since leaving with his best result in a while coming at the recent Arctic Race.
Speaking to Wielerflits, Terpstra said: "I'm super happy to be able to ride a final again - It's been a while since I was able to do that. That's the most beautiful thing there is. It's what I live for, and I enjoyed it. I had that kick again today and I'm happy with that."
Sagan is bringing riders Daniel Oss, Maciej Bodnar, Juraj Sagan and Erik Baska across from Bora-Hansgrohe, as well as multiple staff members, as the team tries to step up to the UCI WorldTour.
Tim Bonville-Ginn is a freelance writer who has worked with Cycling Weekly since 2020 and has also written for many of the biggest publications in cycling media including Cyclingnews, Rouleur, Cyclist and Velo.