Peter Sagan's 2024 objective: "My goal is to have fun, do my best and try to qualify for the Olympic mountain bike race"

Peter Sagan has been having an active fall. He's retired from road racing however he might still race a few events next year on the road, whilst he prepares as best he can to earn a spot at the MTB Olympic Games race.

“My goal is to have fun, do my best and try to qualify for the Olympic mountain bike race in Paris, where I want to end my career,” Sagan said in an interview with sport.sk. For this, he's already raced in the discipline this year. He was 63rd in the XCO World Championships and 37th in the XCC. He hasn't earned enough points to be qualified, whilst he may still do so, his best chance lays on a wildcard selection - of which there are few, but being a very popular rider he may be given one. He's currently in Italy where several videos of his riding have been shared on social media.

“However, I am in discussions with Specialized and we are looking at the possibility of doing two or three road races," he reveals. It is unsure in what format this would happen as he will not have a contract with a team. "This will certainly not be in the WorldTour, but at a lower level. It should be an addition and variety to my mountain bike preparation. We just have to find a solution with my sponsor, Specialized."

Races with national teams and smaller events may be in his sights. "I don't know yet which jersey I will wear, but there is no doubt that Sportful, Specialized and 100% will be on it," he believes. "Specialized and I are considering two or three possible teams.”