Peter Sagan to ride the UCI Gravel World Championships to ‘give back to the people’
‘I still have much more to give’ says Sagan on the decision to head to Italy for the competition
Peter Sagan will head to Italy in early October to compete in the first ever edition of the UCI gravel World Championships.
The first two editions of the competition are scheduled to take place in Italy, with Sagan lining up on the start line at the first edition in Veneto, Northern Italy on 8-9 October 2022.
In 2023 the championships will return to Italy in a yet to be confirmed location.
The Slovakian told Cycling Weekly that he plans to compete in Italy in order to “give back to the people” that have supported him throughout his illustrious career including some of his sponsors Specialized, Sportful and 100% sunglasses.
He also explained that his current team Total Energies have recently enabled him to pursue opportunities in cycling not only focussing on the road.
He said: “I found out about the championship and yes, it’s a last minute decision but I want to go to it. It will be difficult to arrive in the best condition to win but it’s not important for me. I want to say thank you to the people who have supported me for so long and to give back to the fans what they want. That's what’s most important.”
Gravel is a huge market for one of Sagan's long term sponsors Specialized.
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The 32-year-old recently competed at the electric mountain bike championships in Les Gets, France, an experience which he explained was important despite only placing 16th in the race and suffering two crashes.
“I enjoyed the atmosphere at the e-mtb race, it was fun to meet with the fans and go for the public. The result is important, yes, but to give back to the people too,” he said.
In a recent interview with Cycling News ahead of the elite men’s road race at the world championship on Sunday, Sagan joked that he would “win the world title and then quit the road” something which he reiterated was a comment purely for the humour in his typical style.
“No, no I would not quit at this moment. I was just joking of course! The numbers are still good, just other guys sometimes have better numbers. I still have much more to give in cycling,” he added.
Earlier this year in June, Sagan rode the Unbound gravel race in Kansas, United States. His TotalEnergies and long-time teammate Daniel Oss also competed in the 100 mile event.
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Tom joined Cycling Weekly in early 2022 and his news stories, rider interviews and features appear both online and in the magazine.
He has reported from some of professional cycling's biggest races and events including the Tour de France and the recent Glasgow World Championships. He has also covered races elsewhere across the world and interviewed some of the sport's top riders.
When not writing news scoops from the WorldTour, or covering stories from elsewhere in the domestic professional scene, he reports on goings on at bike shops up and down the UK, where he is based when not out on the road at races. He has also appeared on the Radio Cycling podcast.
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