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It is no exaggeration to classify Peter Sagan as a modern cycling legend. With a record seven Tour de France green jerseys, three world titles, 18 Grand Tour stages and two monuments, not many riders in the peloton have had more success than the Slovakian.
However, with his professional career now over, Sagan has watched the rise of players like Mathieu van der Poel and Tadej Pogacar, first by competing alongside them and now as a fan on television, according to the 34-year-old BORA – Hansgrohe and TotalEnergies Star, the level of today’s stars compared to his own peak is simply incomparable.
“You can’t compare cycling today with cycling five, ten or fifteen years ago. You’re just talking about something we’ll never know. “I’m not racing against them now, I just competed against them back then later in my career,” Sagan explains in an interview with the Cyclist Magazine Podcast. “Cycling has changed so much in the last few years that it is incomparable. It’s like comparing the sport to the era of Eddy Merckx. We can talk about it, but it will never end. We’ll never know.”
As mentioned, Sagan still follows the sport and, like many others, was particularly blown away by Pogacar’s success over the course of the 2024 season. “I definitely still enjoy watching races like the Tour of Flanders or Paris-Roubaix. And also some stages of the Tour de France or the Vuelta a Espana,” says Sagan. “He (Pogacar ed.) is strong everywhere. He could even win Paris-Roubaix in the future. What he has already won is something very special in this day and age of cycling. In my day people also said that I could become a classification driver, but in my head and my heart I didn’t want that at all.
After a recent health crisis dashed his hopes of competing in mountain biking at the Olympics, Sagan is taking it easy in retirement. “No, there’s no way I can do the wattage numbers I used to. I do a lot of different activities, like hiking, gym or water sports,” he concludes. “I still ride my bike, but I have to say that I’m definitely not in the shape I was as a professional. I love riding with people or on an online platform, but it’s very different than before.”
