Peter Sagan: I rode well at the Tour de France but something was missing

Peter Sagan has given an honest reflection on his Tour de France 2020 ride, saying he was in good form but admitting something was missing.

The Bora-Hansgrohe rider came away from the Tour without a stage win and also missed out on the green jersey in Paris for the first time in his career.  

Sagan is now heading to the Giro d’Italia to make his debut in the race, in the hopes of completing the full set of Grand Tour victories.

But how does the 30-year-old former world champion reflect on his performance in France? 

Speaking to journalists two days out from the Giro, Sagan said: “At the Tour I can say it didn’t go well or badly. I lacked a bit of luck but I came out well from the Tour. 

“Condition is one thing but results are another. I did well overall but something was missing.

“My condition was good but I was unlucky. It’s not what I expected but I finished in the top-five on eight stages.” 

Sagan and his Bora-Hansgrohe team drove one of the main subplots of the Tour, as they took the fight to Sam Bennett (Deceuninck - Quick-Step) in the green jersey competition.

But despite a valiant fight, Sagan couldn’t reach the top step and missed out in the points classification - the first time he’s ever finished the Tour and not won the jersey (in 2017 when he was disqualified from the race for causing a crash with Mark Cavendish). 

Now just two weeks after the finish of the Tour in Paris, Sagan is back on the start grid for a Grand Tour as the Giro d’Italia kicks off on Saturday (October 3), in the hopes of taking a stage victory and potentially looking at the Giro’s points jersey, the maglia ciclamino.

He said: “I’ve never done two Grand tours in such a short time, but I want to do the best I can and win some stages. 

“After a couple of days we'll see if I can even fight for the point jersey. This year is very strange and different from the others.”

Uncharacteristically, Sagan hasn’t won since stage five of the 2019 Tour, which can in part be put down to the lack of racing caused by the coronavirus pandemic. 

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But Sagan will also be missing the cobbled Classics for the Giro, where he has previously picked up some of his biggest wins. 

He said: “I believe that during my career I have achieved good results. I always try to fight ,but I understand that one year will be super, the next worse - one good one difficult.”