Peter Sagan announces his World Tour retirement bringing an unexpected bonus for mountain bike fans
Three time world road race champion will aim for Olympic MTB glory in 2024
Peter Sagan is considered to be one of the most talented riders of all time. Having won three consecutive road world titles and a record seven green jerseys at the Tour de France, along with numerous wins around the world from Paris-Roubaix to the Tour of California.
The recently turned 33-year-old, TotalEnergies rider has confirmed that the 2023 season will be his last on the World Tour and it brings an unexpected bonus for mountain bike fans as he plans to make a return to mountain biking racing, and a tilt at the cross-country mountain bike race at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
The Slovakian legend has already had a successful junior cyclocross and mountain bike racing career and won the junior cross-country world championship in 2008. He also competed in the CX mountain bike race at the 2016 Olympic Games where a puncture during the race put an end to his hopes of a medal.
In a press conference on his birthday during a rest day at his season debut at the Vuelta a San Juan, he said, "The time has come to let everyone know this is my final year on road bikes as a professional. I will stay with TotalEnergies and then I will focus more on qualifying for the mountain bike Olympics." and added, “This is not my goodbye, I will embark on a new adventure, and everyone will still see me again in these new projects.”
Sagan also thanked his friends, teammates, staff, sponsors and the fans of cycling who have supported him since he burst onto the scene more than a decade ago.
We can't wait to see Sagan back on a mountain bike and hopefully on the start line for the Paris 2024 Olympic games.
Paul Brett joined BikePerfect as a staff writer in 2022. He has been an avid cyclist for as long as he can remember, initially catching the mountain biking bug in the 1990s, and he raced mountain bikes for over a decade before injury cut short a glittering career. An award-winning photographer, when not riding a bike, he can be found at the side of a cyclocross track or a downhill mountain bike world championship shooting the action. Paul was the founder, editor and writer of Proper Cycling magazine, and he's traveled the world interviewing some of the biggest names in mountain biking and writing about some of the biggest cycling brands.
Current rides: Canyon Inflite, Specialized Diverge, Marin Alpine Trail 2