Peter Sagan has had a difficult end of January. During the Argentine stage race, where he started the 2023 season, he declared that it would be his last in the professional peloton.
Photo: instagram.com/laura_meseguer
Journalist Laura Meseguerová and Slovak cyclist Peter Sagan after an interview in Argentina.
He did so at a press conference. Immediately afterwards, he sat down in a chair to answer questions from Spanish journalist Laura Meseguerova.
“Why are you so sad? It’s not like I’m dead! That was Peter’s reaction when he saw my face. The announcement of his departure is sad news, because for years he was one of the leading faces of world cycling and is a true legend,” the renowned journalist wrote on the Instagram social network after the interview.
In the interview, she explains her feelings that accompanied her interview with Sagan in Argentina.
Where did the emotion come from?
It just came to me. The end of a great era is coming. Once upon a time, when racing followed a traditional script, a kind of Sagan appeared and brought joy to the sport. It looked good. For many years it was the center of attention, probably the biggest cycling attraction of the last decade. He coped with the pressure, attention of media and fans with dignity and very naturally at the same time.
Was Sagan also sad when he announced the end of his career?
It seemed to me that he was not very emotional, but I have to say something else: Peter was more open than in any previous interview. It was nice, I could dig a little into how he feels. However, before the press conference where he announced this major decision, I could see that he was nervous. Then – when he sat down in the opposite chair – he was happy and didn’t understand why the rest of us were so sad (smile).
We found a photo of you together on the internet when he was still racing for Cannondale – showing you the Hulk gesture, like at the Tour de France 2014. What was Sagan like when you met him and what is he like now that he’s retiring?
He was the same guy as he is now. Obviously very young at the time, but in spirit the same Peter as he is today. A person who simplifies things gives importance to what really deserves it. A racer who doesn’t feel more important than anyone else, well behaved, always laughing, never stressed and enjoying everything. If you heard his teammates talk about him…
Photo: Instagram
Peter Sagan Laura Meseguer and Peter Sagan do the Hulk gesture. Like the 2014 Tour de France.
I?
For example, that in all these years of cooperation, he never had a bad word about them. Such behavior makes him a legend, a real man. Success didn’t change him, his character didn’t change even a millimeter. In this sense, it is truly unique.
