Peter Sagan: "I tried to be as close as possible to the large crowds of spectators who supported me"

Peter Sagan is having his last year as a professional cyclist now in 2024, where he will have a very specific preparation for the MTB Olympic Games. He is thankful on what he experienced this year and also talks plans for the upcoming months.

"As everyone surely knows, 2023 was a transitional year. In the beginning of the year, I announced that this would be my last year competing in the top road races, so I could enjoy all the races I participated in," Sagan said in an interview with Dennik Sport. "And also I tried to be as close as possible to the large crowds of spectators who supported me. they came to see and encourage me one more time. There were very beautiful moments. I knew I had a lot of supporters, but this year their number seems to have increased even more.”

Sagan had announced his retirement from the road after a monumentally successful career, and despite being past his career prime, he remained one of the most popular figures in the peloton. "I was having great moments. As for my personal life, it was again a busy year, with a lot of obligations, but at the same time I was able to enjoy beautiful moments together with my son Marlon. I devoted practically every free moment to him when my duties allowed me to do so."

The Tour de France legend was present in the ASO's criteriums and was also in South America together with Rigoberto Urán, alongside other appearances elsewhere. "The off season was a very busy period during which I participated in several events practically all over the world. In the past, I practically rested during this period and started preparing for the new competition season.” Now he gears up to race with Slovakian team Pierre Baguette, where his brother Juraj is a DS, to have some competitions on the road together with MTB events, eyeing the big goal in July.

"Together with Ján Valach who will be also a DS in Pierre Baguette , we discussed and analyzed what road races I could include in the program in order to prepare well for my performances in mountain biking," he tells. "We are still fine-tuning everything to see if this is possible. I hope to be able to give a definitive decision on which road events I will participate in in the coming weeks. As you surely know, it would be great for me if I could race at Tour of Slovakia, because it is so important event for me personally. I can't tell you now if it will be possible, but I will do everything to be there, close to my great Slovak fans.“  

A few races are already on his schedule around the world on the mountain bike, and he will be one of the most interesting figures to follow throughout the first half of the year, as he looks to perform in one of the disciplines where he grew into a strong rider.