{"id":194021,"date":"2023-10-02T12:07:01","date_gmt":"2023-10-02T12:07:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/?p=194021"},"modified":"2023-10-02T12:07:01","modified_gmt":"2023-10-02T12:07:01","slug":"peter-sagan-ends-fabulous-road-racing-career","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2023\/10\/02\/peter-sagan-ends-fabulous-road-racing-career\/","title":{"rendered":"Peter Sagan Ends Fabulous Road Racing Career"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cA chapter closes, a new chapter begins,\u201d Peter Sagan told Cyclingnews<\/a> before the start of his last professional road race, Sunday\u2019s Tour de Vend\u00e9e. Starting next year, one of the most successful cyclists of all time will resume his career in MTB, which he gave up at the end of 2009 to join the Liquigas-Doimo team, for the modest salary of $1,000 a month. Since then, the 33-year-old Slovakian has earned many millions and won 121 races, including three consecutive world road race championships (2015-2017), 18 Grand Tour stages (12 in the Tour de France), 11 one-day Classics (including Gent-Wevelgem 3 times and the Tour of Flanders) and 18 stages in the Tour de Suisse.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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His most impressive accomplishment, however, is his record of 7 Tour de France \u0160koda Green Jerseys, a feat that may never be matched by anyone and which exemplifies the skills that made him such a force on the road. He was very fast on the bike, fast enough to win some sprints but not the fastest, and he was a good climber but only on moderate climbs. He was also strong, smart and an excellent bike handler, from his early MTB days and as a result, he was nearly unbeatable in races that suited his particular strengths.<\/p>\n

It is testimony to those strengths and his will to win that on his last race he led briefly in the final turn, inspiring visions of a storybook finale, but he did not have the legs for the final sprint and finished ninth, 5 seconds behind the winner, Ark\u00e9a Samsic\u2019s Arnaud D\u00e9mare. Always a consummate professional, Sagan was an enthusiastic participant in the Tour de Vend\u00e9e because, as he put it, \u201cThis race is very important for the [TotalEnergies] team because this part of France is where they are based and they\u2019ve organized a nice goodbye for me to celebrate my career, too. So there are going to be a lot of things to do and it\u2019s going to be a pleasure to go there and see all the people who are supporting us.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\ud835\udde0\ud835\uddf2\ud835\uddff\ud835\uddf0\ud835\uddf6 pour tous ces beaux souvenirs durant cette incroyable carri\u00e8re. <\/p>\n

D\u00e9finitivement une \ud835\uddf9\ud835\uddf2\u0301\ud835\uddf4\ud835\uddf2\ud835\uddfb\ud835\uddf1\ud835\uddf2 de ce sport. @petosagan<\/a> \ud83d\udc51\ud83c\uddf8\ud83c\uddf0<\/p>\n

Dakujem Peter. \ud83d\udc4f pic.twitter.com\/DJ3foKbU61<\/a><\/p>\n

— Team TotalEnergies (@TeamTotalEnrg) October 1, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n