Peter Sagan: 'I won't get bored of winning the green jersey'

Peter Sagan has won five green jerseys in a row so far in the Tour de France and does not consider that going for a sixth one is "boring" when the race starts on Saturday in Düsseldorf.

The world champion Slovakian joined his Bora-Hansgrohe team-mates on Thursday at the Specialized pop-up store in the German city to speak with journalists.

"I will try to do my best to get another one, and next year another one, and maybe after that I am bored," Sagan said.

"No, but it's a hard Tour de France and you have to be concentrated every day. To take a green jersey is a very hard thing and you have to fight for it from the first day to the last one. Every day, you have to be concentrated. It's hard, and for sure it's not boring."

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Sagan started right away in his debut Tour in 2012. With his speed on the flats and short uphill finishes, he has been an unstoppable point-scoring machine.

If he wins his sixth in the 2017 Tour de France he will match the record number of wins achieved by German Erik Zabel, who won the jersey from 1996 to 2001.

"I don't think about that, I just go my way," Sagan said. "I am doing my career. I don't worry much about the riders."

Sagan responded with his typical short answers to most questions. Often, he added more after a smile and pause.

Consistency, not victories, prevailed in his five Tour de France participations so far. In 2015, for example, he failed to win a single stage, but he gained enough points through second and third places.

This year's route should offer plenty of chances for the 27-year-old Slovakian with seven flat sprint stages and four mixed stages.

"I'll try to do my best for sure, like in life, if you want too much, you can lose a lot. I'm not hungry for everything, but for sure, I'll do my best," Sagan said.

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His coach and team sports director, Patxi Vila says he is producing his best power numbers yet and starts stronger than he did in the 2016 Tour.

"It's not about the condition but the results," Sagan explained. "Everyone see the results, not how I feel."

Michael Matthews (Sunweb), John Degenkolb (Trek-Segafredo) and others could knock Sagan off his throne. And there are signs he feels older, too.

"I prefer one day to be in the white jersey! I'm getting old, guys," Sagan said.

"From the start everyone has a chance, many riders have a chance, but you can crash, have injures, all the situations are different.

"Everyone is strong in the Tour de France and we have to be focused all the time."

The 2017 Tour de France starts in Düsseldorf, Germany, on Saturday July 1 and finishes three weeks later in Paris on Sunday, July 23.