Peter Sagan

Peter Sagan
	; Sagan on the podium after the second stage of the 2010 Tour de Romandie
Personal information
Full name	Peter Sagan
Nickname	Terminator
Born	January 26, 1990 (age 22); Žilina, Czechoslovakia
Height	184cm
Weight	73kg
Team information
Current team	Liquigas-Cannondale
Discipline	Road
Role	Rider
Rider type	All-rounder / Sprinter
Amateur team(s)
2009	Dukla Trenčín Merida
Professional team(s)
2010–	Liquigas-Doimo
Major wins
	Vuelta a España 3 Stages Paris-Nice Points classification (2010) 2 Stages Tour de Romandie 1 Stage Tour de Suisse Points classification (2011) 2 Stages Tour of California Points classification (2010, 2011) Youth classification (2010) 3 Stages Giro di Sardegna General classification (2011) Points classification (2011) 3 Stages Tour de Pologne General classification (2011) Points classification (2011) 2 Stages
	Vuelta a España 3 Stages Paris-Nice Points classification (2010) 2 Stages Tour de Romandie 1 Stage Tour de Suisse Points classification (2011) 2 Stages Tour of California Points classification (2010, 2011) Youth classification (2010) 3 Stages Giro di Sardegna General classification (2011) Points classification (2011) 3 Stages Tour de Pologne General classification (2011) Points classification (2011) 2 Stages
	Infobox last updated on; 19 February 2012

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Peter Sagan (born January 26, 1990 in Žilina) is a Slovak professional road bicycle racer for UCI ProTour team Liquigas-Cannondale. Sagan had a successful junior mountain bike racing career, winning the Junior World Championship in 2008, before moving to road racing.

At the age of 21 Sagan is considered to be one of cycling's most promising talents,^[2] having won two stages at Paris–Nice, one at the Tour de Romandie, two and the overall classification at the Tour de Pologne, three at the Tour of California, two at the Tour de Suisse, three at the Vuelta a España as well as the overall classification and three stages of the Giro di Sardegna.

[edit] Early years

Sagan started to ride bikes at the age of nine when he joined Cyklistický spolok Žilina, a small local club in his home town. Throughout his junior age Sagan rode both mountain bikes and road bikes, and was well known for his unconventional style to ride in tennis shoes and t-shirts, drinking just pure water. Sagan drew a significant attention when he appeared at the Slovak Cup with a bicycle borrowed off his sister after he had mistakenly sold his own and the one from VeloSprint sponsor was delayed. Riding the supermarket bike with poor brakes and limited gear, he won the race.

[edit] Professional beginnings

Sagan got his first taste of professional cycling when he was hired by the Dukla Trenčín Mérida team, a Slovak outfit in the Continental Pro (second) division. In 2008, he won the Junior World Championship on the mountain bike in Vale di Sole. That same year, he also finished second at Cyclocross Junior World Championships in Treviso and the Junior Paris–Roubaix.^[3]

Sagan joined a Pro Tour team Quick Step for road testing but he failed to get a contract. His frustration was so deep that he decided to quit road cycling, however pressed by his family he gave it a try to Liquigas-Doimo and succeeded. Liquigas' Zanatta offered Sagan a two-year contract (2010–2011) with an option to ride mountain bikes for Cannondale. The contract has been prolonged until 2012 in April 2010. Liquigas doctors and managers were stunned by results of Sagan's medical tests saying they have never ever seen a rider of 19 years of age so physically strong and capable as Sagan. During the training camp Sagan destroyed more mountain bikes than any other rider due to his ability to put a bike through its paces. His team mates started to call him Terminator despite his quiet and very polite personality.

[edit] 2010

"I tell you, this young Slovenian is showing a lot of talent."

Lance Armstrong mistaking Sagan's nationality during 2010 Tour Down Under.^[4]

Liquigas nominated Sagan for his first Pro Tour road race Tour Down Under in January 2010 at the age of 19. He was involved in a crash during the second stage but kept riding with 17 stitches on his arm and left thigh. In the queen stage to Willunga he joined an attack over the last climb with Cadel Evans, Alejandro Valverde and Luis León Sánchez. The four fought to hold off the sprinters' group over the next 20 kilometers, with Sánchez taking the win.^[4]

Sagan won his first and second Pro Tour stages during the 2010 Paris–Nice road race. Sagan was not initially nominated for the race, but joined the team after his team mate Maciej Bodnar broke his collarbone.^[5] His first stage win was gained on 10 March 2010, when Sagan joined a move initiated by Nicolas Roche on the final climb of the third stage into Aurillac and out-sprinted Roche and Joaquim Rodríguez for the stage win. This stage win also gave Sagan the lead in the "Green Jersey" or Points Classification.^[6] Sagan's second Pro Tour win came two days later from a solo attack in the fifth stage into Aix-en-Provence. Attacking three kilometers from the finish up a sharp climb, Sagan was able to hold off the Peloton to claim the win.^[7] Alongside his two stage wins, Sagan also finished second in stage two at Limoges and third in stage six into Tourrettes-sur-Loup. The combination of high stage placings and intermediate sprint points won Sagan the Green Jersey for 2010. He finished the race 17th, three minutes and twenty one seconds behind race winner Alberto Contador, who praised the young Slovak and predicted he would be a rival to watch in future races. He also finished eighth in the "White Jersey" or Young Riders Classification.^[8]

Sagan wearing the green jersey at the 2010 Tour of California.

At the 2010 Tour of California, Sagan won the 5th and the 6th stage, coming in with the GC contenders each time. After missing the move up Bonny Doon on stage 3, he was 17 seconds back. The two stage wins that he took not only moved him into 3rd on GC but also put him into the points jersey. Going into the 7th Stage Time Trial through Los Angeles, he was only 9 seconds back. Even though he had prior success in Prologues, this Time Trial was slightly too long, and he lost 1 minute and 35 seconds on GC going into the final stage. Even though he was dropped out of the select GC group on the last lap of the 20.4 mile circuit, he secured both the Youth Competition and the Points Jersey. He ended up 8th in the overall, behind seasoned veterans like Levi Leipheimer, Michael Rogers, David Zabriskie, Chris Horner, and Jens Voigt, all people very highly respected in the European peloton. Sagan finished fourth in the opening prologue of the 2010 Tour de Suisse, only three seconds behind Fabian Cancellara, but finished almost 11 minutes down in the second stage and didn't take the start the following day alleging severe fatigue.^[9]

After taking a break during the month of July, he returned to good form later in the season, securing high placings in a number of European races as well as 2nd place in the inaugural Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal. He rode the World Championships in Geelong, Australia for Slovakia, but failed to make an impact in the long race. He planned to ride several late season races including Paris-Tours and the Giro di Lombardia but an intestinal issue forced him out of the former and weakened him in the latter.^[10]

[edit] 2011

Sagan was set to continue in 2011 with the same team, now renamed Liquigas-Cannondale. At a team training camp in December 2010, Sagan said that his first goal for the 2011 season would be Milan San Remo.^[11]

After beginning his season with some solid placings in a couple of Italian one-day races, Sagan really got his season going at the Giro di Sardegna. He won 3 of the 5 stages in the race, and won both the overall and the points classification, narrowly hanging on to beat Jose Serpa by 3 seconds in the general classification.

During the Tour of California, he won stage 5 on his way to a win in the points classification for the second straight year at this event.

In June he took part in the Tour de Suisse starting off with an impressive 3rd place in the opening prologue. He then won a mountain stage 3, proving his versatility, when he caught Damiano Cunego on the descent of Grosse Scheidegg and then outsprinted him in the dash to the finish line. Sagan managed two other podium placings in the flat stages with an uphill sprint finish before winning stage 8 in another bunch sprint. This victory was enough to secure another points jersey for the young Slovak rider.

Sagan targeted the Vuelta a España to be the stage for his first Grand Tour appearance. He rode Tour de Pologne as a preparation for the Vuelta. He took the leader's jersey after winning stage 4 and then he also won stage 5. Although he lost the jersey to Daniel Martin after a difficult finish of stage 6, he managed to regain it on the final day of the race thanks to bonus seconds for intermediate sprint and a second place on the stage. He also claimed the points classification.

[edit] Personal life

Sagan is the youngest child among three brothers and a sister. He was brought up by his sister as his parents spent most of the day taking care of a small grocery shop they own in his hometown. His brother Juraj Sagan is a cyclist with Liquigas-Cannondale. In the spare time Peter likes to watch movies, his favourite meal is pizza and steak, likes to drink coffee.