For years cyclists repeated the adage that once a rider won the World Championship he was done winning for a year—and based on the records of recent champions: Thor Hushovd, Mark Cavendish, Philippe Gilbert, Rui Costa, Michał Kwiatkowski—the adage was pretty accurate.
Peter Sagan has destroyed that myth entirely.
Since winning the 2015 UCI Road Race title, the 26-year-old Slovakian finished first in the Tour of Flanders and Ghent–Wevelgem, won two stages in the Tour de Suisse, two stages in the Tour of California, the points jersey in the Tour of Californian and Tirreno–Adriatico, and now has won three stages in the 2016 Tour de France, where he is also all but guaranteed to win the points classification—for the fifth year running.
Sagan made the most of the last sprinters’ stage of the 2016 Tour before the final stage in Paris, where the pure sprinters will have their day. Stage 16 was long—209 km from Moirans-en-Montagne in France to Berne, Switzerland—with a steep cobbled climb in the closing kilometers, perfectly suited to a puncheur such as Sagan can be.
The Tinkoff rider followed Giant-Alpecin’s Warren Barguil, who was leading out team mate John Degenkolb. Sagan stayed patient when Movistar’s Alejandro Vaslverde started off the sprint, and stayed patient when Katusha’s Alexander Kristoff took off in pursuit. Sagan gauged his effort perfectly and caught the Katusha rider at the line, winning in a photo finish which showed that the World Champion thrust his bike across the line one inch ahead of his rival.
“I thought I was second until they came and told me I had won,” Peter Sagan told leTour.com. “It’s unbelievable. After so many times finishing 2nd… The wheel turns.
“I want to thank my team for the work they did all day. Then it was a crazy finale, very technical. Everyone wanted to be in my wheel. I think Kristoff made a mistake in the sprint. He jumped very late and that’s how I won.”
The Katusha rider had to agree. “I thought I had it but I was sprinting at maximum and I didn’t see the line until to late—maybe that made the difference, I don’t know,” he told NBC Sports.
Tuesday will be a rest day. On Wednesday the Tour heads into the Alps for a series of diabolically difficult mountain stages which will decide the overall winner.
