'I could not postpone it again': Peter Sagan visits art gallery in preparation for Giro d'Italia debut

Peter Sagan says he could not have postponed his Giro d'Italia debut again despite the coronavirus pandemic, meaning he will ride the Grand Tour instead of the Belgian Classics this year.

The revised WorldTour calendar sees the Italian Grand Tour take place between October 3 - 25, overlapping with the Tour of Flanders (October 18) and Paris-Roubaix (October 25).

"In my races agreed before the lockdown there was the Giro d’Italia and even after the release of the new calendar, I wanted to keep my word and be present at the start of the Corsa Rosa," Peter Sagan said.

The Slovakian stars in a typically offbeat new promo video for the Giro, the three-time world champion taking part in the gallery tour and finishing the guide's sentences while describing various paintings.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=maZgWQlkdPs

"Together with the team, despite the overlap with the northern classics, we immediately decided that I would participate in the Giro. There was not even a moment of doubt or second thoughts. I am happy to come riding on the roads of the Corsa Rosa, for me, it will be the first time, and I could not postpone it again," Sagan said.

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The 30-year-old has been training hard ahead of the season returning, practicing his wheelies on Austrian mountain roads.

Sagan recently announced his plans for when racing resumes and will line up for the return of the WorldTour at Strade Bianche on August 1.

He will then ride Milano-Torino on August 5, Milan-San Remo on August 8, and the Critérium du Dauphiné from August 12-16, before turning his attention to the Grand Tours.

Sagan will race the Tour de France, which starts in Nice from August 29 until September 20, before the Giro on October 3.