Peter Sagan
Nationality: Slovakian
Date of birth: January 26, 1990
Height: 183cm
Weight: 74kg
Team: TotalEnergies
Twitter: @petosagan
Peter Sagan is one of the world's most powerful and versatile bike riders. Sprinter, puncheur, Classics rider; Sagan has the ability to do it all, which means it's no surprise that he has such an impressive palmares.
He is contracted to his TotalEnergies team until the end of 2024, but recently announced that he would be retiring from road racing and would focus next year on the mountain bike race at the Paris Olympic Games.
After the disbanding of the Tinkoff team at the end of the 2016 season, Sagan joined German squad Bora-Hansgrohe in 2017, where he found great success. He signed for French ProTeam TotalEnergies for 2022, and is contracted there until the end of 2024.
Sagan is a three-time world champion, in 2015, 2016 and 2017. This is the first time in history a male rider has held the jersey for so long. He's also been the national champion of Slovakia on eight occasions – a title he has shared with his brother Juraj, who has won it four times.
>>> When did Peter Sagan last wear a standard team jersey?
Sagan is a prolific Tour de France stage winner, with 12 wins to his name, from the years 2012, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019. He's finished the race in Paris wearing the green jersey seven times, a classification with which he has become synonymous. In total he holds 17 Grand Tour stage wins.
Sagan has also recorded some impressive results at the Classics and Monuments, including wins in Paris-Roubaix, Tour of Flanders, Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne, Ghent-Wevelgem and E3 Harelbeke.
The Slovak can also climb. He has recorded GC wins in the Amgen Tour of California, the Tour de Pologne and a second in Tirreno-Adriatico, albeit with the main mountain stage cancelled.
He made his Giro d'Italia debut in 2020 after a disappointing Tour de France where he was beaten to green by Sam Bennett (Deceuninck - Quick-Step).
Sagan wore the mountain jersey for one day at the start of the Giro before turning his focus to stage wins.
But with that versatile bike riding talent, which began in mountain biking as junior in his native Slovakia, Sagan has become somewhat of a marked man in the peloton, meaning race wins and stage wins are becoming harder and harder to come by as other riders refuse to help him to the finish.
His early pro career saw him compete as part of the Liquigas/Cannondale team from 2010-2014, before joining Russian super-squad Tinkoff, where the pressure was significantly higher on him to achieve bigger results in one-day races and the Grand Tours.
He is also known for his graceful riding style and excellent bike handling skills. This has often seen him cross the line doing one handed wheelies.
Despite his ability, it hasn't all been plain sailing for the Slovak, who became known as something of a bad boy over the years. This was in part due to pinching a podium girl's bottom at the Tour of Flanders in 2013. And then there was his disqualification from the Tour de France in 2017 after he took out Mark Cavendish in the sprint finish at Vittel on stage four, ending the Manxman's race.
Sagan is no longer quite the force he was – it would be a surprise to see him winning a major Classic like Paris-Roubaix this year, for example, and a win on stage three of the Tour de Suisse was one of only two victories last year (the other being his national road race). However, his past few season have been far from barren, with several wins in 2021 including a stage and the points jersey at the Giro d'Italia.
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Tweets of the week: Peter Sagan signs up for Strictly Come Dancing
He's quick on a bike, but how good's his rumba?
By Tom Davidson Published
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I knew I'd never make it as a pro but a good tailwind still makes me think I had a chance
Tailwinds on rides growing up made me believe I was the next Bradley Wiggins. It's only when they went away that I realised I had a long way to go to become a Tour de France winner
By Tom Thewlis Published
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‘There's no point to race for 50th place’: Peter Sagan explains why he’s a cycling esports ambassador but won’t compete
As a MyWhoosh ambassador, Sagan admires the sport’s evolution, but does he have the watts to compete with today’s virtual cycling stars?
By Christopher Schwenker Published
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Peter Sagan finishes second in last ever professional race
Former three time road world champion was the runner up in the Slovakian national MTB championships on Sunday
By Tom Thewlis Published
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'It's a miracle': The inside story of how Peter Sagan ended up on a team called Pierre Baguette
Six years after the dream first took root, Boris Horváth finally has Peter Sagan on his team
By Tom Davidson Published
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Peter Sagan confident of return to bike in 15 days after latest heart procedure
Sagan recently underwent second operation in Italy to tackle heart rhythm related issues
By Tom Thewlis Published
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Peter Sagan undergoes second heart procedure, as Olympics nears
Return to training after first operation reveals further heart rhythm issues
By Tom Thewlis Published
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Peter Sagan undergoes heart procedure after experiencing ‘tachycardic episode’
Slovakian has ablation procedure in Italian hospital after heart rate exceeded 200 bpm during MTB race in Spain
By Tom Thewlis Published
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Peter Sagan given suspended prison sentence for drink driving offence
Three-time road world champion also banned from driving for three months, on eve of Tour de France
By Tom Thewlis Published
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In celebration of Peter Sagan, cycling's rock and roll frontman
As the three-time world champion is set to call time on his career in the WorldTour at the end of 2023, we thought we would take a look back at the glory days
By Tom Thewlis Published
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Eyeing the Olympic mountain bike race in Paris, Peter Sagan will retire from WorldTour racing at season's end
Finishing how he started, the former road world champion will race one last mountain bike-focused year in 2024
By Anne-Marije Rook Published
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Wout van Aert moots building gravel world championships into 2023 programme
Belgian rider says gravel racing has a ‘great future’ as he considers worlds participation next year
By Tom Thewlis Published
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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
By Tom Thewlis Last updated
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Peter Sagan has day to forget at E-MTB Worlds, crashing twice
The Slovakian came off his bike and finished in 16th
By Tom Davidson Published
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Peter Sagan set to compete in the electric mountain bike World Championships
TotalEnergies rider will compete in competition in Les Gets, France in late-August
By Tom Thewlis Published
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Van der Poel not targeting green jersey at Tour de France
Jasper Philipsen will be the main sprinter at Alpecin-Fenix
By Tom Thewlis Published
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'It's nice to be back': Peter Sagan downplays his first WorldTour win in over a year
Slovakian takes his maiden win for TotalEnergies, his first in ninth month, but his 18th Tour de Suisse stage
By Adam Becket Published
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Peter Sagan unlikely to ride Paris-Roubaix after illness
Former winner also missed Tour of Flanders after health problems
By Adam Becket Published
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Peter Sagan to skip Tour of Flanders after Classics struggles
Former Ronde winner to undergo tests before Amstel Gold Race and Paris-Roubaix
By Adam Becket Published
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Peter Sagan concerned with peloton's negative attitude: 'The younger generation lacks that respect'
The three-time world champion claims riders "just piss in the middle of the pack" as an example of this lack of respect
By Ryan Dabbs Published
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Peter Sagan misses out on Strade Bianche after organisers don't select Team TotalEnergies
Strade Bianche organisers RCS didn't select Sagan's new team, Team TotalEnergies, to race the Italian Classic
By Ryan Dabbs Published
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Peter Sagan rescued stranded cycling tourist in Gran Canaria who thought group of pros were a 'bunch of kids'
Along with three other pros, Sagan helped fix a 63-year-old's puncture in Gran Canaria
By Ryan Dabbs Published
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Peter Sagan tests positive for Covid for a second time
Three-time world champion and his brother, Juraj, have had their plans disrupted by virus
By Adam Becket Published
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'We want to be in tune with Peter Sagan to achieve great things together': Says TotalEnergies sports director on balancing Sagan and team identity
The French team are keen to keep their own characteristics while also allowing the Slovakian to do his thing
By Tim Bonville-Ginn Published
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Peter Sagan expresses regret at incident with Monaco police: 'I wish to take this opportunity to convey my most sincere apologies'
Sagan was fined €5,000 for resisting arrest and injuring a police officer
By Ryan Dabbs Published
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Peter Sagan fined after incident with Monaco police when breaking Covid-19 curfew
The Slovakian star's representative said that he feared he would be "forced to be vaccinated" against Covid
By Tim Bonville-Ginn Published
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Peter Sagan to make Team TotalEnergies debut at 2022 Vuelta a San Juan
He will race the seven-stage Argentinian race from January 30-February 6
By Ryan Dabbs Published
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Peter Sagan says 'part of the beauty of cycling has been lost' following Covid-19 restrictions
The three-time world champion prepares to begin a new season with a new team
By Richard Windsor Published
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Peter Sagan confident ahead of TotalEnergies switch: 'We are going to build a team around me'
The Slovakian expressed his enthusiasm to race at the French-based, ProTeam level side
By Ryan Dabbs Published