17/11/2022

Peter Sagan "rarely makes mistakes when he says something", teammate says

Peter Sagan has had a long career in the peloton and remains one of the most popular figures. Talking to reporters, teammate Mathieu Burgaudeau has talked about the difference that the former World Champion brings to TotalEnergies.

“Peter gave a boost to the team. He brought professionalism and gave little extra tips that can help us in the race. In addition, very good material has come in," Burgaudeau told CyclismActu, referring to Specialized bikes which have followed Sagan into the French team. The signing in 2021 was unexpected, but allowed the Slovakian to keep his main block - including Daniel Oss, Maciej Bodnar and brother Juraj Sagan - alongside him aswell as a leading position.

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Although he struggled severely in the first part of the season due to a Covid-19 infection, he improved towards the finale with stage wins at the Tour de Suisse and national championships, and a 7th place at the World Championships, aswell as several Top5 results at the Tour de France. He helped the French team into it's position in the UCI rankings which will see TotalEnergies with automatic wildcards for all World Tour races.

This was also much due to the influence of riders such as Dries van Gestel, Julien Simon, Anthony Turgis and Burgaudeau himself - a winner of a stage at Paris-Nice. The French team won 15 races this year and finished on the podium of several World Tour classics, a terrain where it has benefited from the presence and experience of Sagan.

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"Peter is not someone who talks a lot," Burgaudeau continued. "But that's why we want to listen to him when he talks. He doesn't talk nonsense. He's not going to say anything for nothing and rarely makes mistakes when he says something, so we listen to him carefully."

"It is very interesting to listen to him, to hear his advice. It's really nice to have him on your team and I think it will help you make even more progress," he concluded.