Peter Sagan: "I tried to be as close as possible to the large crowds of spectators who supported me"
Cycling
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.
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A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
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Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
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- He is boring
leedorney08-11-2026 - To Twoje przemyślenia te bla, bla :)
Dariusz08-11-2026 - Uwielbiam patrzeć, jak wyjeżdża na czoło peletonu i zaczyna się rzeź...Dariusz08-11-2026
- Yeah, unreal.
parisbound0008-11-2026 - there needs to be space in life for pointless comments!Ketterechts08-11-2026
- That is a very lazy way of putting it but so far on this website it seems like everyone is happy to look at everything lazily, even things that annoy them intensely. All they want to do is state their feeling and position but ask most to analyse a problem or come up with solutions or improvements and you’re stunned by silence. Nobody even really knows how this all happens. It’s very simple and quick to just say the UCI did it but I bet you they didn’t, I bet you not more than 2 people were involved, more likely just 1. The UCI may be ultimately responsible but it is not their decision, this is about hierarchy, power and delegation. The fact that protest is possible also means it isn’t over and that MORE people could get involved for a thorough review which could throw up anything. It is highly likely it was a sole commissar who decided and has that power in a first round. Therein might lie the problem the UCI has to consider, is it acceptable to give so much authority to one single person when it is quite possible for them to have a natural bias or be too easily susceptible to imposed bias. Who is to say an individual in this position isn’t susceptible to collaboration with outside players with interests in the results, nations, families, teams, betting companies, etc. On the one hand we have sports where these problems have been worked on way more to reduce such problems, on the other hand we have sports with far stricter and more draconian rules not even concerning safety or obstruction that nobody really questions like false starts or stepping out of lane or zones in athletics. If cycling hastowork on itself, it would be good if protagonists (all kinds) would start doing a little more than just moaning over outcomes.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- Yes, so why not make comments less pointless?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- What a race! I didn't expect Vanthourenhout to collapse like that, and Wyseure did take the fight to Nys, but there was no doubt at the end. I also wonder what Aubin Sparfel would be capable of were he to race in the elites now. In the U23 ranks he is making good work of Giel Lejeune, who himself is among the better riders in the elites, and a top 10 contender in the big races (3rd at Kleebergcross, 8th at Berencross and 5th at Heerderstrand). In the French Cup, Sparfel is significantly better than Romain Debord (8th at Koppenbergcross and 10th at the Euros) and Rémi Lelandais (12th at Koppenbergcross and 19th at the Euros).
Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026 - There really was nothing in it. Schreiber was so much faster, and Brand was fighting to stay in the wheel in the sprint. Schreiber did move a bit, but to say she closed the door doesn't make sense because Brand couldn't enter it anyway, abd she wasn't impeded.Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026
- He should have been allowed to go to Movistar. Right now both arent a good fit for each other and are just wasting each other's time and effortabstractengineer08-11-2026
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Peter Sagan enjoying the winter ❄️
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