Peter Sagan set to compete in the electric mountain bike World Championships

Peter Sagan is set to switch from the road to the trails, as he competes at the World Electric Mountain Bike Championship at the end of August. 

The 32-year-old Slovakian recently competed at the Tour de France, but after a brief stint of altitude training in the USA, the TotalEnergies rider will return to Europe for the competition in Les Gets, France, which takes place on 26 August.

‘It will be a party,’ Sagan said when speaking to La Gazzetta Dello Sport (opens in new tab) this week. 

A three-time road world champion, Sagan has always enjoyed the extreme elements of cycling, and is widely considered as being one of the most versatile riders in the peloton. 

In June this year, the Slovakian took part in a 100-mile gravel race at Unbound Gravel in Kansas, USA. Sagan’s teammate, Daniel Oss, also took part in the event alongside him. 

Before beginning racing on the road, the 32-year-old began his cycling career in mountain biking as a junior, and also raced at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio in the mountain bike event. The TotalEnergies rider has also competed in numerous cyclocross events throughout his career. 

A contributing factor to the Slovakian’s participation in the electric mountain bike championship is his long term partnership with bike brand Specialized. 

The bike brand have long been involved in the World Electric Mountain Bike Championships. Previously, Tom Pidcock has won the event whilst riding a Specialized e-bike. 

At a similar time to taking part in the e-mountain bike event in August, Sagan is due to ride several smaller road races in Europe. 

According to La Gazzetta, on 21 August, the 32-year-old is due to compete at a small race in Hamburg, Germany before competing at the Bretagne Classic one week later. 

When discussing his participation at the e-mountain bike event, Sagan suggested that his involvement is more to please his sponsors. He said: “I won’t be able to be competitive and I’m not going for that.” 

Meanwhile after her second stage win at the first-ever Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, Dutch sprinter Lorena Wiebes admitted post-race that she has previously been inspired by Sagan. When discussing riders who inspire her in an interview with Cycling Tips (opens in new tab), Wiebes said, “for sprinters I’m looking more to the male peloton and that would be Fabio Jakobsen… in the past it was more Peter Sagan.”