This is the story of an anomaly. With his punch and his sprinter's qualities, it was written that "la Primavera" would one day give himself to Zilina's showman. But, in the twilight of his career, the superstar of the last decade, who announced in January that he would hang up his bike at the end of the season, at 33, ultimately never raised his arms on the Via Roma.

Everywhere else, it has martyred competition. Triple world champion, seven-time winner of the green jersey on the Tour de France, the TotalEnergies rider won two other Monuments, the Tour of Flanders in 2016 and Paris-Roubaix two years later, to forge a track record as long as the 294 km that will bring the peloton Saturday to the shores of the Riviera.

But, in San Remo, "Hulk" always remained fanny, despite incredible stats: nine Top 10 in twelve participations, twice second and five times fourth!

"I failed for a lot of different reasons. Sometimes I underestimated my rivals. Other times I had mechanical problems," he told reporters last week at Tirreno-Adriatico where, as often in recent years, he remained largely anonymous in the peloton.

Slovakia's Peter Sagan with the green jersey on the podium of the Tour de France 2019, on July 28, 2019 on the Champs Elysées © Anne-Christine POUJOULAT / AFP/Archives

The regrets are there. His failure in 2017, shoulder to shoulder with Poland's Michał Kwiatkowski, remains his biggest disappointment. The same evening, he had ensured, as usual, the show by posting on social networks a photo of himself in front of a poster in the toilet proclaiming: "we spend our lives trying to achieve big goals when it would be a good start to simply aim in the middle". Success assured.

"New projects"

This defeat did him, however, he admits today, "very badly". "I felt strong that day, but I didn't get the right information from the sporting directors and I made a tactical mistake. On Milan-Sanremo, everything is decided in a second, if you miss your chance, you won't have another one."

He has one last cartridge left before he finally puts his bike back in the garage. The Slovak ambianceur announced at the end of January that this season would be his last, before devoting himself to his new goal: the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris in mountain biking, his original sport.

Slovakian rider Peter Sagan, winner of one of the Monuments of cycling, Paris-Roubaix, April 8, 2018 © JEFF PACHOUD / POOL / AFP / Archives

"I think it's the right time. I will stop racing at World Tour level but I will continue to do some races to stay in shape for my new projects. Some riders hang on, become gregarios (simple teammates, editor's note) or stay in the peloton to pass on their experience to the youngest. But, for me, the time has come to do something else."

Since his arrival at TotalEnergies in 2022, the Slovak has struggled to regain his former glory. Undermined by several Covid infections, he won only two races last year, a stage of the Tour de Suisse and his national championship, blocking his tally at 121 career victories.

But as the Primavera approaches, he wants to believe in one last blow.

Slovakian cyclist Peter Sagan with the world champion jersey, after his victory in Paris-Roubaix, April 8, 2018 © FRANCOIS LO PRESTI / AFP/Archives

"If I win Milan-Sanremo, I retire directly," he joked last week, before resuming his seriousness: "No, I'm kidding. Let's see what happens. Let's try to win first, then I'll decide."

© 2023 AFP