{"id":183226,"date":"2021-04-26T08:46:10","date_gmt":"2021-04-26T08:46:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/?p=183226"},"modified":"2021-04-26T08:46:10","modified_gmt":"2021-04-26T08:46:10","slug":"peter-sagan-after-covid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2021\/04\/26\/peter-sagan-after-covid\/","title":{"rendered":"Peter Sagan After Covid"},"content":{"rendered":"

At age 31, after suffering from Covid-19 in early February and with his Bora-Hansgrohe team apparently looking to dump him to use his 5 million euro salary to groom promising young racers, you could think that Peter Sagan\u2019s confidence might be suffering a bit.<\/strong><\/p>\n

After all, 2020 was not a good year for him. Perhaps because the Covid-19 epidemic disrupted training and racing schedules, he never looked like his usual dominating self and scored only one victory all year, a stage of the Giro d\u2019Italia. That mediocre showing might have been one reason his team manager Ralph Denk suggested<\/a> that the Slovak, widely considered one of the greatest road racers of all time, could be in the autumn of his career.<\/p>\n

But autumn often has very warm days and the season\u2019s apples and pears can be quite sweet. If his early 2021 form is anything to go by, Sagan\u2019s autumn may be an extended Indian summer, with lots of days in the sun to come.<\/p>\n

\"Peter<\/a>
Sagan at 2021 Tour of Flanders. \u00a9 Profimedia<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

After his illness forced Sagan to skip the Opening Weekend of races in Belgium at the end of February, Sagan made his 2021 debut on March 10 at the difficult and hilly Tirreno-Adriatico<\/a> 7-day stage race and finished 130th, more than 1hr 7min behind winner Tadej Poga\u010dar.<\/p>\n

Next up, on March 20, was the one-day Milan-San Remo. Sagan finished an excellent fourth, in the same time as winner Jasper Stuyven and just ahead of Mathieu Van der Poel, who is in top form. The average speed for the 299km race was just over 45 km\/hr, a decent pace for a fading racer.<\/p>\n

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One week to go until my next race, I look forward to hitting the start line at the @TourDeRomandie<\/a>! @iamspecialized<\/a> @sportful<\/a> @ride100percent<\/a><\/p>\n

(Photo @bettiniphoto<\/a>) pic.twitter.com\/Dyp94SbcWj<\/a><\/p>\n

— Peter Sagan (@petosagan) April 20, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n