Peter Sagan targeting Mountain Bike gold at Paris Olympics: "It's going to be a challenge"

As Peter Sagan looks to wind down his career on the road, the legendary Slovakian's attention has turned to Mountain Bike, the discipline in which he thrived as a youngster.

"As a junior I was able to alternate road and mountain bike then as an Under-23 I got the proposal from Liquigas to become a professional on the road," the 33-year-old reveals to Eurosport. "I said to myself: if I don't like it on the road, if I don't see a future, I can always go back to mountain biking."

Whilst Sagan clearly did enjoy himself, winning seven Tour de France green jerseys and claiming the road race world championship title three times, that desire to oneday return to mountain bike has never left him.

"I've always missed it and I liked mountain biking more. That's why I said: when I retire, the last year I want to do mountain biking. I'd love to get to my last Olympics in Paris, but it's going to be a challenge," Sagan says. "I'd say that as a kid it's more important to ride the track, mountain bike or BMX than the road, because the road is almost just watts and performance, while you develop all the other things you need to ride a bike in other disciplines."