'The moment has arrived' – Peter Sagan to retire from WorldTour, aims for last hurrah at Paris 2024 Olympics

Published 27/01/2023 at 09:51 GMT

One of the peloton’s biggest characters, Peter Sagan, will retire from top-level road racing at the end of the season. Sagan, who has won the green jersey at the Tour de France a record seven times, will shift his focus to a last hurrah at the Paris 2024 Olympics in the mountain bike event – ensuring his career comes full circle. Sagan won three straight world titles from 2015-2017.

Peter Sagan sul podio alla Vuelta a San Juan 2023

Image credit: Getty Images

Peter Sagan will step away from WorldTour road racing at the end of the season, before attempting to sign off a glittering career on the mountain bike at the Paris 2024 Olympics.

Sagan, one of the finest cyclists of his generation, boasts 12 stage wins at the Tour de France, where he has won the points classification a record seven times. He has also claimed two stages at the Giro d’Italia and four at La Vuelta.

But it is in one-day racing where he has arguably enjoyed his biggest success. The Slovak won the world road race title three years on the spin between 2015 and 2017, while he also counts wins at the Tour of Flanders (2016) and Paris-Roubaix (2018) on a bulging palmarès.

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"Time goes by. When I was 19 I remember I always had the idea to retire when I was 30. I'm 33 now," Sagan told Eurosport at Vuelta a San Juan.

"I want to end my career with my real passion: mountain bike."

Sagan, whose deal at TotalEnergies expires at the end of the year, will now chase a last hurrah in the Spring Classics and Tour de France.

"Now that I've revealed that it's my last year I'm even more motivated," Sagan continued.

"I haven't lost the motivation of winning. These are other priorities in life. I've made many sacrifices and it has cost me a lot with my family. I want to spend more time with my son."

Sagan is expected to feature in lower-level road races in 2024 as he fine-tunes his Olympic swansong.

“I would like to say the moment has arrived,” added Sagan at a press conference.

“I always said I would like to finish my career on the mountain bike, because I started my career on the mountain bike. It gives me some pleasure at the end of my career because I’m doing something I really enjoy.

“It’s important for me to spend time with my son Marlon and to see life from different angles, and not just as a cyclist. It was never my dream to race or to be a professional rider until 40 or 50. I think it’s time now.

“And if I am going to be able to finish my career in Paris at the Olympics Games, that’s going to be something nice for me.”

Sagan competed in the mountain bike event at the Rio 2016 Olympics, finishing 35th, while he is a former junior world and European champion in the discipline.

“It’s not about the medal or something. It’s more about what I want to do,” said Sagan.

“There’s not pressure anymore about whether I win or lose. It’s just something I always wanted, to finish my career on mountain bike and next year is Olympic year. But I wanted to do it for me, and not for anybody else.”

Sagan was keen to stress his final year on the WorldTour would not simply be a lap of honour.

“I want to finish all the WorldTour races this year at a high level. I’m not just going to enjoy the year,” he said.

“I want to be at my top level.”

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