by Peter Sagan
The gap isn’t coming down now. It’s going out: 1 min 10 secs; 1 min 22 sec; 1 min 25 secs. Just Carrefour de l’Arbre, that horrible, horrible section to go. The chasers will have held back, knowing that’s their last 100 per cent effort to pull it back. I’ve tried to, but shit, I’m up here trying to hold them off, I haven’t been taking deep breaths and rolling my shoulders in mental preparation. I’m as close to empty as anyone.
My biggest effort. Like a pursuit rider on the track, timing it to not blow up, but not wanting to hold anything back. I come out of the worst section of pavé of the Paris–Roubaix finale to find Sylvain Dillier panting like an overworked greyhound but still clinging on. The race tells us Terpstra, Van Avermaet, Stuyven and Vanmarcke are a minute behind. It’s just us. This really is it now.
With two sections remaining they peg us back to 46 seconds. Nothing. Dillier is spent as a weapon but still there as companion.
Go deeper, Peter. Think. Think of all those races your dad drove you to all over Europe. Think of Juraj’s posters of Ullrich and Pantani. Think of Giovanni having to ride around Lake Tahoe. Think of those Slovakian flags in Doha. Think of Gabriele marshalling the media. Think of Marlon’s little hands. Go deeper.
Fifty-one seconds.
Fifty-four seconds.
Fifty-nine seconds.
We’re on the long avenue that tracks up the outskirts of Lille into Roubaix. The velodrome is up there on the right. This is it. I’ve been here before, but not to win it. How is Dillier thinking of winning? It doesn’t matter. Just do it right and you will win, Peter. Do it wrong and he will win. It’s in your hands, not his.
He leads into the velodrome and hugs the top of the track, ducking under the spectator’s flags, correctly showing me only one way past. Hold. Hold. We have a lap and a half of the old track to complete. We take the bell still on the outside of the track, not as slow as fixed-wheel cat-and-mouse Olympians, but not racing any more. His neck is permanently clicked left, watching me and the track in front. Two more bends. Hold. Hold. Two hundred and fifty metres. Hold. One more bend. Hold, Peter!
Two hundred metres. One hundred and fifty metres. One hundred metres. Now!
I dart down across the track and Dillier flicks across to go for my slipstream, but I have left it late enough that there is no time for him to catch and overtake me.
I win Paris–Roubaix.
In the midst of life, we are in death. A boy died today. A young Belgian guy called Michael Goolaerts with his whole life ahead of him. On the second cobbled section, back in the early part of the race, his heart went into cardiac arrest and he crashed, never regaining consciousness.
A hundred stories, but this was Michael’s last story, when it should have just been one of his first. It could be him here writing about his half a dozen Monuments and UCI Rainbow Jerseys and us reading it in ten years’ time.
It’s dangerous what we do. Every day, we risk everything for glory, for money, for our families, for ourselves. And I know it’s a word that people tire of hearing me say, but yes, it’s a lottery. A hundred stories. One of us wins Paris–Roubaix; one of us dies at Paris–Roubaix. I wish that he could have ripped that ticket up.
If I have a message, it is this: live life every day. Not because we are bulletproof, but precisely because we are not. Be kind to each other. Be careful with each other. And live life every day.
One thing that has accompanied all of my UCI World Championship victories is the incredible forest of Slovak flags. It doesn’t feel like I come from a small country any more.
I was surprised to be able to even start in Bergen after being ill, and the objective for the majority of the 276.5 km race was to last as long as I could.
Some sprints are explosive, some are slow burners, but few are as intense for such a prolonged effort as the Worlds were in Bergen. If the course was 50 cm shorter, I would just be a double World Champion.
If anybody questioned my astonishment at winning my third consecutive Worlds, they only had to see my face on the podium. Alexander Kristoff (L) and Michael Matthews (R) joined me on the podium.
This fellow looks barely old enough to be out of school, let alone riding a bike professionally.
My third Tour stage win on debut in Metz in front of Andre Greipel and of course another quirky Tour de France victory salute.
Riding into Paris at the denouement of my first Tour de France in the green points classification jersey alongside best young rider Tejay van Garderen, race winner Bradley Wiggins and King of the Mountains Thomas Voeckler was an experience to savour. I wanted more.
Lining up with Liquigas teammates and Italian legends Ivan Basso and Vincenzo Nibali for my first Tour de France start in Liège.
All his years of missioning around Europe to support my early career finally paid off. 2012 was a very happy year for my father, L’ubomír.
The first hero of Slovak cycling Ján Valach, seen here in 1989 at the height of his professional career. He is still inspiring me from behind the wheel at BORA - Hansgrohe.
Adding my support to kids events like this one in my home town of Žilina led to the formation of the Peter Sagan Academy, established to develop young talent.
Being an outdoor kid, playing every conceivable sport, was hugely influential on my career. I love getting new generations of Slovak children out in the open air, such as at this Kids Tour event in 2015.
My first move as a professional was to the headline-grabbing Tinkolf team and a new coach in Bobby Julich.
There was never a dull moment when Oleg Tinkov was around. Here he is in 2015, testing the seams of my fourth Tour de France green jersey and my first for Team Tinkoff.
The driving force behind my arrival at Tinkoff was the team’s founder Bjarne Riis.
If you wanted to be entertained, charmed, amused or offended, Oleg was always on hand.
Conflict at the top of the Tinkoff organisation between Stefano Feltrin, Oleg Tinkov and Bjarne Riis ultimately cast Riis his job.
My second year at Tinkoff was far less turbulent than the first.
Much was made of the supposed rivalry for team leadership at Tinkoff between Alberto Contador and myself, but neither of us saw it as an issue. We had an easy friendship and mutual respect.
The Tinkoff team time trial squad at the 2015 UCI World Championships in Richmond, Virginia, may look pretty cool, but that was a day none of us will want to remember. Everything that could go wrong, did.
The tricky circuit in Virginia suited me perfectly. The nature of circuit racing means you can hone your line into the corners on every lap, something that paid dividends for me that day.
The moment when I finally realised that no, they weren’t going to catch me. I was going to be the UCI World Champion.
Time enough to actually enjoy the last few yards and get used to the idea of wearing the UCI rainbow jersey.
What do you think? I could get used to wearing this, I reckon.
Michal Kolář, my brother Juraj and my dad L’ubomír … at this point it was still sinking in for all of us.
It’s nice to be thrown in the air by your team, and even nicer to be caught, but I am acutely aware of the Slovakia team’s unquestioning commitment. It was an amazing day for all of us.
Flying the flag for my country.
Receiving congratulations from Tom Boonen after winning Gent-Wevelgem in 2016.
I quickly became very familiar with the concept that if something can be manufactured, it can be manufactured with a rainbow on it.
Breaking my Monument duck with a hugely satisfying solo win at the 2016 Tour of Flanders and paying due respect to the jersey by putting it on the top step of one of the greatest podiums in pro cycling.
Accepting congratulations from the one and only Fabian Cancellara. How many times previously had this scene been shot the opposite way around?
I didn’t enjoy my first Olympic experience much, so when Rio rolled around, I thought I’d get the mountain bike out instead. I mean, how hard
can it be?
I get plenty of comments regarding my bike handling in the pro peloton, but mountain biking demands a ridiculous level of skill. It’s a lot of fun, though.
The best thing about doing the Rio Olympics was the opportunity to beat Gabriele at FIFA dozens of times every day. He doesn’t look bitter though, does he?
People say that you’re unlucky if you suffer two punctures in a race. I say you should be better at riding your bike.
Signing in to start the longest, hottest race anyone can remember: the 2016 UCI World Championship Road Race in Doha. I’d enjoyed my year in the rainbow jersey and I had no intention of giving it to somebody else.
Just because you expect a race to end in a sprint, it doesn’t follow that it will be straightforward. Hours of predictably dull racing exploded in a bottle of sprinting royalty.
The Sagan brothers celebrate their second consecutive UCI World Championship. That still sounds funny enough to bring a smile to my face.
A podium of three former World Champions is impressive at any race.
The Phllosophy of Willi Bruckbauer and Ralph Denk has made my move to BORA - hansgrohe one of the besf decisions of my career. And don’t I make you want a hansgrohe shower?
Milan – San Remo 2017. The besf race I’ve ever lost. You could have thrown a blanket over Michal Kwiatkowski, Julian Alaphlippe and myself on the line.
The great form I’d taken into the 2017 Classics was negated when I falled to notice a spectator’s jacket draped over the barriers. Greg Van Avermaet and Oliver Naesen hit the pavé with me.
A week later and Parls-Roubaix evaded me as well. Surely I’d get a decent run at it one day?
Juraj and me, riding together as pros in China in 2011. We didn’t think it could get better than that. But now we’re the UCI World Championship brothers.
I’m sure there have been professional cycling teams that have enjoyed themselves more than BORA - hansgrohe. I just don’t seem to be able to think of any at the moment.
The Last Gregorio, Sylwester Smzyd was the greatest climbing domestique of his generation, a fact recognised by his peers and employers, if not the history books.
If I hadn’t had Maroš looking after me for my entire career – and I do mean my entire career – I wouldn’t have won the races that I’ve won. It’s just a fact.
Patxi Vila is the archetypal new generation director sportif: one of us, fitter than most riders and happier riding his bike than driving the car.
Proof that Giovanni was a bit tasty himself in his day. Wouldn’t you want a manager who was both the toughest negotiator in the business and the smartest rider in the bunch?
Gabriele and I with some ink. He hasn’t just got my back. He’s also got my face on his leg.
These guys. Giovanni and Gabriele. You’ll have to go through them to get to me. Brothers.
Gabriele is quite photogenic with a raincoat on and the hood up.
There is an unhealthy number of Peter Sagan logo tattoos on ankles in this bunch photo. But we like that. It means something to us. We are Team Peter.
At BORA - hansgrohe, we like to bring the party to the race. Other teams make us park furthest away at race starts because our bus is so loud.
I’d like to claim that I clipped out of my pedal for the purposes of entertainment at this sprint at the 2017 Tour. In fact I totally messed it up, but still managed to hang on for the win.
At the finish line, after Mark Cavendish came down horribly in that infamous sprint at Vittel in the 2017 Tour, Gabri predicted I would be in trouble. I told him he knew nothing about cycling.
Watching a playback of the incident moments later: “Ok Gabri. Maybe you do know something about cycling.”
Cav was out injured. I was out in disgrace. It happened and I moved on.
Sometimes the greatest things come from our darkest moments. Within days I was on board the Christina O with all the most important people in my life.
Living it up with Gabriele and Giovanni.
And a World Exclusive: I slipped on deck and smashed my teeth in. Everyone was sworn to secrecy, but I’m coming clean!
The UCI rainbow jersey goes over the cobbles of the Hell of the North.
Moments like winning on the old velodrome at Roubaix will never be forgotten. This is why I do it. Training in the rain and snow. It’s no price to pay at all. This is priceless.
And when the people who mean the most to you are the people that put you there, the celebrations are all the more poignant.
I got my cobble after all.
INDEX
The page references in this index correspond to the printed edition from which this ebook was created. To find a specific word or phrase from the index, please use the search feature of your ebook reader.
PS indicates Peter Sagan.
Abramovich, Roman 115
AG2R La Mondiale 287
Alaphilippe, Julian:
European Road Championships (2016) 178
La Flèche Wallonne (2015) 9
Liège-Bastogne-Liège (2015) 9
Milan-San Remo (2017) 205, 257
puncheur 2
Tour de France (2016) 152
Tour of California (2015) 9, 53, 54
World Championships (2017) 2, 9, 11
Alonso, Fernando 41
Amador, Andrey 94
Amstel Gold 62, 215 (2012) 26, 72–3
Astana 58, 267
Bachleda, Jan 228
Ballerini, Franco 275
Banesto 226
Baška, Erik 194
Basso, Ivan 22, 66–7
Belgian national team 93–4, 185–6, 188
Bennati, Daniele 185
Bergen, Norway 1–15, 35, 75, 138, 189, 200–1, 202, 246, 255, 261–2, 263–8
Bettiol, Alberto 12, 13
Blythe, Adam 185, 188
BMC 41, 91, 175, 207, 217, 273, 279, 281, 284
BMX 34
Boaro, Manuele 90, 91
Bodnar, Maciej:
BORA – hansgrohe and 194, 216–17, 273
Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec (2016) 173
Liquigas and 22, 25
Paris-Nice (2010) 25
Paris-Roubaix (2017) 213
Paris-Roubaix (2018) 281
PS friendship with 22, 247
PS sprinting tactics and 216–17
strength 167
Tour de France (2016) 155
Tour of Flanders (2017) 212
World Championships (2015) 90–1
Bonnet, William 25, 185
Boonen, Tom 27, 210
crossover from sprinter to Classics rider 255–6
Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec (2016) 172
Paris-Roubaix (2002) 255, 275
Paris-Roubaix (2017) 214, 215
retirement 258, 273, 274
Tour of Flanders (2017) 207–8
World Championships (2015) 94, 103–4
World Championships (2016) 185, 186, 188
BORA - hansgrohe 3, 4, 11, 22, 35, 212, 213, 217, 219, 231, 235, 241, 248, 263, 270, 271, 272, 273, 274, 279, 281, 284, 285, 287, 290
Classics team 273
February training camp 50
PS commitment to 117–18
PS joins 191–5, 196, 201–2
relaxed professional environment within 230–1
(2017) season 203–15, 230–41, 261–3
(2018) season 269–93 see also individual race and tournament name
Bouhanni, Nacer 88, 237, 238, 239
Bruckbauer, Willi 193–4, 217, 241, 271, 272
Burghardt, Marcus:
Gent-Wevelgem (2018) 273–4
Paris-Roubaix (2018) 281, 283, 276
PS and 216–17, 247
PS sprinting tactics and 216–17
strength of 167
Bystrøm, Sven Erik 286
Canadian World Tour:
(2016) 149, 171–4, 177, 181
(2017) 202, 260–3
Cancellara, Fabian 98, 247
Classics and 27,
256–7
Gent-Wevelgem (2016) 124–5
Milan-San Remo (2013) 203
Olympics (2012) 143
retirement 210, 258, 273
Tour de France (2012) 28–9, 256