PETER SAGAN - THE STAR BACK HOME

How big is Peter Sagan in Slovakia, where football and ice hockey are the dominant

sports? One of the country’s top sports journalists describes the ‘Sagan E ect’

Writer: L’udovít Lučaníč

© PROCYCLING, issue 247, October 2018

Slovakia has never had a cyclist to rival the appeal of Peter Sagan. We had an Olympic track sprint champion in Anton Tkác, who won gold in the 1976 Montréal Olympic Games, and professionals such as Milan Jurco, Anton Novosad or Jozef Regec, but such a great cycling personality as Sagan is today, Slovakia has never had in its history. He is a phenomenon on two wheels, a charismatic athlete who makes Slovakia more visible around the world and makes cycling more popular at home. When he is racing in the Tour de France or the World Championships he is watched in almost every home.

I remember well my first encounter with Peter Sagan. It was in a mountain bike race in Žilina, his city. The slender, black-haired young man wore a jersey probably three sizes too big and he was starting from somewhere in the third row. But the trainers at the Žilina Cyclists Association told me to keep an eye on him. After the first lap he was in the lead with a margin of maybe 30 seconds. After the fourth and final lap he had been finished so long, he was breathing normally as he watched his opponents finish.

Various things are known about his complete beginnings. For example, he rode one of his first races on his sister’s bike. Many of his rivals shook their heads, but he showed them his back shortly after the start and disappeared. One Christmas, Peter found his gift under the tree – a top mountain bike. The snow takes a long time to melt away in Žilina and Peter was anxious to try it out. When it finally got warmer and he could go riding, his father, L’ubomír, found him jumping the bike off the roof of the garage and dropping a height of almost 3m. Sagan told his father he was testing the bike’s strength. L’ubomír got angry and hid the bike for a week. But he finally gave it back to his son because he also believed that it was necessary to try the extremes. Today, L’ubomír has no regrets and year after year, he follows his son to races all over the world – not only in Europe but to the far west of America.

When Peter, the junior star, brought home medals from around the world in mountain biking, cyclo-cross and road cycling, there was a debate in Slovakia about what route he should take. The trainers were not unanimous and all of them saw his future success in their discipline. The mountain bikers were particularly vocal. They tried to convince everyone that this was Sagan’s only way, because it was in their discipline that he won his first valuable medals, at the Junior Mountain Bike World Championships. But the road cyclists argued that their branch was the most popular and he would achieve greatest exposure there. It was difficult for Peter to decide. He may have ridden off-road, but he could not take his eyes off the TV that showed him the Tour de France. He said to himself, ‘I would like to start there some day’. He could spend hours watching races on TV, but he never missed his training. He knew early that only daily training on a bike could bring him success. While others went camping, had fun, went to a disco, he was always tinkering with his bike. He tried to keep it in top condition. He would clean it nightly so he could feel the best on it the next day.

Peter Sagan has chosen Monaco for his temporary residence. It is closer to the races and the training conditions are better. In Žilina, the weather’s always colder and the city remains blanketed in snow even when road cyclists are opening their race season elsewhere. 

He comes to Žilina several times a year, but always only for a few hours or a couple of days. He means a lot to Slovakians. He does not race here much - maybe just once every two years, when it is Slovakia’s turn to host the national championships it shares with the Czech Republic. But many Slovaks, especially from his native Žilina and the surrounding area, travel to his races abroad – to the Tour de France, the Tour de Suisse and the Classics in Belgium. He is the pride of the country. Foreign diplomats have said many times that the Peter Sagan brand is much more visible in the international market than many other products from our country. During the 2015 World Championships in Richmond he had as many fans there as anywhere he raced in Europe. There were a few Slovaks, but Americans represented most of his supporters.

When he wins a big race, the major news programmes on both state and private Slovak television stations start with the news. Whatever is happening in politics doesn’t matter because at that moment, Sagan is far more interesting. The same goes for the papers. After his successes in the World Championships or the Tour de France, articles about this remarkable cyclist will be front page news on all the daily newspapers - even the ones that usually restrict themselves to politics the rest of the time.

Sagan has reinvigorated Slovakian cycling in the same way the UK enjoyed the ‘Wiggins effect’ in 2012. In the past, cycling was a minority pastime in Slovakia. Today the roads are clogged with cycling families. On the country roads between cities you will pass many world champion jerseys or that of his team, Bora-Hansgrohe. People are buying more bikes.

Children and the elderly are cycling, women and girls are cycling. One can only regret that among the active cyclists there are not yet signs that we are nurturing 10 more Peter Sagans. Because behind him there remains a gaping hole in road racing. In Slovakia, there is only one Continental-level team - Dukla Banska Bystrica. The country organises a great national race, the Tour of Slovakia, in September and it will feature WorldTour, ProContinental and Continental teams, but there will be no more than 16-18 Slovakian cyclists.

On the one hand, Peter Sagan is a great role model who motivates people – young children especially. But on the other hand, that large base is reduced in increasing numbers every year. After the first failures, young racers lose motivation and their attention drifts elsewhere. Slovak cycling is hoping for a rebound from Peter Sagan’s new Detská Tour (Children’s Tour). The triple world champion lent his name to the initiative. Every year there are eight to 10 events for kids who don’t have a license and there is hope they will uncover the talents for this sport. More than 500-600 children start at every event.

Peter Sagan pays most attention to the best young cyclists in the club in Žilina where he started his successful career. It is now called the Peter Sagan Cycling Academy and young cyclists, mostly junior age, are already achieving good results on the domestic scene and also at the international level.

Peter Sagan astonishes the whole cycling world today. And though he is a global star known to sports fans all over the world, who puts Slovakia on the map, he does not forget his roots.