alathIN

I really enjoy watching this guy. There are some athletes who make their sport look fun, and Peter Sagan is one of them. Reminds me of a young Tiger Woods or Magic Johnson.

I am not a big time pro cycling fan and certainly no expert on the Byzantine rules and categories and such, but it doesn't look to me like Sagan is a great fit for his sport. In a straight up sprint, he can't quite seem to beat the very best sprinters. He seems to be a moderately decent time trialist, and a mid-pack climber at best. Thrilling descender, great bike handler. Going with the NBA analogy, he's got Magic Johnson's charisma and competitiveness, but some Spud Webb type limitations.

Unless there is a huge change in the rules, he's never going to be a GC contender. Unfortunately, the most likely change in the rules will be to make it more difficult for a guy with his skill set to compete for the green jersey.

There ought to be a place in the cycling world for this guy to really shine. I'm not sure UCI is it.

sprince

I hope he is never a GC contender in a grand tour. Would be a shame if he became just another one dimensional oxygen deprivation freak, because he is the coolest rider on the planet. But I think you underestimate the climbing, time trailing and sprinting. He's a better climber than many of the climbing specialists (when he wants to be), and he has won the overall in one week tours. The time trialing has improved dramatically over the past few years. And as a sprinter he would be deadly if he concentrated only on that (like the other sprinters), and had the luxury of a team leading him out.

Athens80

He does have 7 grand tour stage wins, 4 green jerseys, 3 semi classic wins, 2 stage race GC wins, numerous other stage wins, etc. He's said to be one of the highest paid pro cyclists.

He hasn't won everything like it looked he might a couple of years ago. So there is that downside.

PepeM

No place? He won the green jersey, what else could you possibly want?

There is more than the Tour de France you know?

jyl

I have read the plan for Sagan is for him to be a Classics rider, for which he is perfectly suited, then lean down and go for stage races and grand tours. He will, I think, get cleverer with his tactics, hopefully get better team support, build endurance. He really should, and I think will, win his share of classics in time. I'm not sure if he really can lean down enough to be a tour GC contender, but would be interesting to see him try.

I really liked seeing him behaving with class when Tinkov was slagging him, then shutting Tinkov up with his riding, not just for his own account but also the work he did for Contador, and finally converting Tinkov into a fan.

Laggard

No place in cycling? Not every rider is a grand tour GC contender and most of the year does not consists of grand tours anyway. I think that's something that a lot of casual fans don't realize. The cycling year starts now in January and basically runs through October and a lot of that consists of smaller tours and one day races. Though I don't see him as a GT winner there is no reason why he someday cannot be a Paris Nice, Tirreno Adriatico or Tour of Romandie winner. He's already won the Tour of Poland and Tour of California.

bauhaus92

I believe he will win some classics, more green jerseys and as was mention more 1 week tours like Paris-Nice which would make him pretty much Sean Kelly reincarnated.

Laggard

Kelly might be a good comparison. Never a pure sprinter, struggled in the high mountains but tough with a good motor.

gpsblake

I think Sagan is perfect where he is now. He won't be a GC contender but he can make a heck of a career winning single day rides, 2 HC tours like California and grand tour stages, and of course, points classification jerseys. Right now, he's one of the most recognized names in the world for cycling and his next contract will see millions of Euros thrown at him.

Leinster

Kelly and Jalabert (another rider Sagan gets compared to) both picked up a Vuelta win in their careers. And the Vuelta was set up as the most climber-oriented of the GTs back in those days.


I dont don't think Sagan needs a rule change, I think he needs to persuade Oleg to spring for a dedicated domestique for him, who can last 275kms and still be of use in the final hour of MSR, Roubaix or Flanders.

WCroadie

I hope he leaves Tinkov, the owner is a total d'bag and should not have been ripping him during the tour of Cali, tho maybe it did light a fire under him.

I used to not be able to stand Sagan, now he is quickly on the way to becoming my favorite rider, currently #2 . He races with emotion and heart, he is a beast. Go here and watch the 1st video, which is a few highlights from his tour - Alle grappen en grollen van Sagan op een rijtje

Garfield Cat

The coverage on the last day of the TdF shows a bit of Sagan in a different light. Riders were getting lined up for the sprint finish and there was some bumping going on. Then again the TV coverage shows Sagan again in another bump contest.

What's with this bumping?

Campag4life

Its pretty obvious. The end justifies the means. The goal is to win. Who players bumper cars better than Sagan generally regarded as perhaps the greatest bike handler of all time? Mere mortals getting in a bump contest with Sagan are gonna lose. Sagan has good sprinting capability but in that company more like top 5 or 10. So position aka bumping and/or throwing his competition off their game is a tactic that could pay dividends albeit as peril to he and others. In his case, it didn't help.
Not saying I condone that behavior but there is little difference between Nascar and the end of a stage sprint. Sagan is my favorite rider. Ask Tony Martin.

jyl

Bumping is standard on the track, and in sprints. It is a combat zone. Track riders train to bump and to resist bumps.

diphthong

even with all his second place finishes, sagan is one hell of a rider. very few riders have been good/lucky enough
to "fulfill their potential" for winning according to the pundits and fans. a few recent riders that looked like they had an
equally bright future as sagan-ebh and haussler-combined have had one tenth the career sagan has had at this point.
even a guy like valverde that's ridden (and been competitive) in pretty much everything has what many would feel to be
an underachieving career. pretty decent palmares tho. sagan's what? 25 or 26? damn.

i hope he rides the vuelta. it's just more exciting when he's there to contest the sprints, the punchy uphill finishes
and the rolling stages.

DropBarFan

NASCAR frowns on bump/run tactic on final laps. It's OK when a lapped car refuses to pull over but not as a cheap shortcut to a win. Didn't know Sagan was a rough rider though in past 5 years of Tour sprints they've gotten rougher. Of course that impression might be magnified by current better cameras.

Rowan

People forget that Sagan was there as much to work with and for Contador for general classification honours. The fact that Sagan won the Green Jersey points competition was a fantastic bonus. And his downhills were exciting to watch (although there were some other memorable downhills by other riders too).

bruin11

I thought they changed the rules this year to make it more difficult for him to win the green jersey.

Campag4life

Bumping and Nascar are synomous...final laps or not. Fines are levied all the time for breaking the rules. Fines are also handed out in cycling. The priority is to win and best judgment many times falls by the wayside. Also bumping can be way more nuanced. In fact, in a final sprint jockeying for position is basically a game of 3D dynamic chess. Advantage Sagan. As great as he is, he just doesn't have the pure power of the best sprinters. Even pint sized Cav got owned in this year's tour...got overpowered by bigger and stronger sprinters in spite of his weight and diminutive aero profile.

Leinster

It's totally an illusion of the cameras. Kelly and Vanderarden use to kick lumps out of each other fighting over that lead out wheel in the sprints. Raas and Maertens' lead out men were picked for their shoulders as much as their speed. Abdu didn't just get dangerous in the last 100m. Sprinting has always been about who is willing to push and shove to get on that wheel.

Giacomo 1 

It's tough to deny a rider that can get in the break day after day and gobble up the intermediate sprint points, and then finish high in the final bunch sprint for the big points.

The green jersey competition would actually be quite close without Sagan in the race and I think other sprinters might actually target the jersey if he weren't there. But with him in it, I think most sprinters won't go after it...

Laggard

We all need to stop for a second and stand in awe at what these sprinters do. It is so amazingly terrifying and dangerous that to me they are the true heroes of cycling.

klmmicro

Love watching the sprinters! That Sagan gets in the mix with them and pulls off stage wins is great fun to watch. He definitely has a place in cycling as he does in the hearts of many fans. It is not all about winning grand tours. He has taken enough honors to secure him respect from at least me.

TankSlapper

How can you not like this guy?

Jseis 

I love the guy, he can photo bomb like nobody's business and doesn't mind at all muscling his way to a wheel. Totally focused on racing yet afterwards is a total ham. He's probably got the names of every podium girl too. He could have an incredible career of well over a decade ahead.