“I want to ride as well as possible. And give the best of myself. We’ll see where the roads in France take us day by day,” Sagan told cyclingnews.com.
“The most important thing of all is for me to finish the Tour all the way to Paris. For me to arrive safe and sound on the Champs-Élysées and be able to celebrate that I have finished my last Tour. That will be the best way to close my career at the Tour de France and to to say goodbye to her. I will be happy, satisfied and proud if I can do it,” added Sagan.
However, this does not mean that the three-time world champion from the road race was completely without ambition at the start of Saturday’s start in Bilbao, Spain, at the beginning of a journey of more than 3,400 kilometers long. It would not be compatible with his heart as a competitor who won the points competition seven times at the most famous race in the world.
The form of Slovakian star Peter Sagan. Contribution from the program Studio TourVideo: Sport.cz
“I believe that I could win a stage and be in the center of the action. To win the green jersey (for the winner of the points competition) is getting harder and harder. And I know very well that the flow of time cannot be stopped and turned back. But you never know what can happen. To have a chance to win, you have to be out there at the front and fight every day,” emphasized Sagan.
He is also well aware that one cannot give in too much to sentiment. “The Tour de France is always too difficult to experience it too much and immerse yourself in the emotions. You can’t ride the Tour for fun or maybe just as a farewell. You have to endure it and stay focused every day to get through it all. Maybe then on the emotions will come to me when we get to Paris, but until then I still have a long way to go.”
Sagan made his Tour debut in 2012. “It was still in Liquigas when I rode the Tour for the first time. I think it was one of my best performances ever. I didn’t know what to expect at all, so I didn’t have any pressure on my shoulders. And it turned out to be a great Tour for me, winning three stages, getting the green jersey and having a lot of fun on top of that. I also found out how different the Tour is to everyone else,” Sagan recalled.
Although he will probably miss top road cycling, he certainly won’t miss the pressure and expectations he faced every July in conjunction with the start of the legendary stage race.
“The Tour creates special and intense emotions, but for such magic to happen you have to suffer. Of course I am grateful for the Tour. Winning the stages and winning seven green jerseys – it changed my life. Every rider dreams of starting the Tour de France and also stage wins, but I also think that every rider has a love-hate relationship with the Tour. I definitely do,” Sagan admitted.
2023-06-30 16:35:09
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