Peter Sagan’s quest for Olympic Video games glory is anticipated to start February 11, 2024 on the inaugural HERO Abu Dhabi cross-country MTB race. From there, he has scheduled three XCO races in Europe with worldwide fields earlier than taking the beginning in Brazil for the opening spherical of the UCI World Cup season.
Just lately retired from his UCI street profession, Sagan had a single focus for 2024 – Paris. However whereas he was ‘the person’ on the Tour de France on the Champs-Élysées successful seven factors classification titles, this time the end line is on grime at Elancourt Hill for the Olympic Video games, the boys’s cross-country MTB occasion on July 29.
“And my plans for subsequent 12 months? I’ll do a coaching camp in South Africa, then I’ll go straight to Abu Dhabi for the primary race which will probably be on the eleventh of February,” he mentioned in an interview with Cyclinguptodate.com. “I at all times mentioned: I used to be born on MTB, I’ll ‘die’ on MTB.”
On the finish of February, Sagan will compete in a pair of Spanish races, Internacionales de Chelva on the 18th and Tremendous Cup Massi Banyoles every week later. In mid-March he heads to the Marseille France Cup. The UCI Mountain Bike calendar for subsequent 12 months contains eight stops for cross-country races, with the primary two in Brazil in April, and Sagan was anticipated at each.
Throughout the weeks main as much as competitions, Sagan mentioned that he would construct energy within the health club and likewise concentrate on fundamentals, “the decisive level for me is method: I’ve to enhance”.
“As a way to be maximally ready for MTB, I attempt to make a great basis. The muse is at all times vital, particularly in winter. However I nonetheless add some high quality, with out exaggeration,” he instructed a Slovakian journalist for Cyclinguptodate.
The three-time street World Champion competed on the 2016 Rio Olympic Video games for Slovakia in cross-country mountain bike, a puncture early within the race taking him out of medal competition, and he missed the Tokyo Video games as a result of an damage. His roots in biking return to mountain biking, when he received a junior world title in 2008.
As a way to qualify for XCO on the Paris Olympic Video games, he appears to be like to scoop up World Cup factors this summer season. Nonetheless, he faces an uphill battle to earn sufficient factors to qualify a spot for Slovakia. As a rustic, Slovakia was thirty seventh within the UCI nations rankings and solely the highest 19 nations earn a begin. As a person, he has till Could 26 to amass qualification factors.
At MTB races in 2024, Sagan will compete in “a particular jersey that may have the identical graphics because the Specialised Manufacturing unit Racing Workforce, however will probably be produced by Sportful, my private sponsor”.
He mentioned he wouldn’t take part in mountain stage races, resembling Cape Epic, because the preparation was “utterly completely different” than the Olympic cross-country occasions which require solely an hour of full power output. He added {that a} multi-day mountain bike occasion like Cape Epic was tougher than street races.
As for a return to the street, he confirmed he want to race for the RRK Group-Pierre Baguette-Benzinol staff, the place his older brother Juraj is a directeur sportif, but it surely was not official, but. “I want to do some street races with them, however solely as coaching for MTB,” noting he might race in spring at a couple of 1.2 races which wrap round World Cups, resembling GP Slovenian Istria, GP Goriska and GP Adria Mobil.
“I am not unhappy I am ending on the street. I’m very happy to proceed with mountain bike and see if I’m able to do one thing or not,” he instructed Cyclingnews close to the top of his street profession this fall.
Sagan final received on the street three weeks in the past, carrying his TotalEnergies equipment in a dash victory forward of Tadej Pogačar (UAE Workforce Emirates) in Monaco after 45 laps of racing in exhibition race, Beking Monaco Criterium.