Peter Sagan finishes second in last ever professional race

Peter Sagan rode his final professional UCI race on Sunday at the Slovakian national mountain bike championships and finished second. 

The former three-time road world champion was initially expected to permanently retire from professional racing after the Paris Olympics. But as Slovakia did not qualify for the mountain bike cross-country event he has opted to immediately retire from competition due to recent health issues. 

Sagan retired from the road last year after riding his final WorldTour race with his former team Total Energies. He also competed at one final world championships in Scotland last summer. 

Announcing the details of his final race on Sunday morning, Sagan’s current team Pierre Baguette said: "After the health problems that Peter Sagan had this year, he decided to end his professional career also in mountain biking today at the Slovak National MTB Championships in Košice."

Sagan experienced what is known as a tachycardic episode during a mountain bike event in Spain earlier this year. He then underwent two separate heart procedures in order to attempt to correct the issue. 

Throughout the process, Sagan’s representatives made clear that it would have little impact on his competition schedule. As they predicted, he soon returned to racing and rode the Tour de Hongrie on the road as well as several other mountain bike races. 

However, despite Sagan’s final mountain bike appearances, Slovakia did not qualify to send any riders to Paris for the Olympics. 

“We are so proud of you Peter and thank you for everything,” his team said on Sunday evening on social media. 

Sagan’s illustrious career saw him win endless one day races as well as stages at all three Grand Tours. The 34-year-old won 12 individual stages at the Tour de France and the green points jersey on seven occasions. 

As well as his three consecutive road world titles in 2015, 2016 and 2017, he also won Paris-Roubaix in 2018 while wearing the rainbow bands. He also won the Tour of Flanders as world champion. 

His final road appearance was on home roads at the Tour of Slovakia. 

"I still remember my first stage at the Tour Down Under on January 19th, 2010," Sagan wrote on his Instagram page after the race. 

"I was just a young kid, not even 20 yet, and I would never have imagined back then that I would have such a long and fruitful career in this sport.

"It's been a long road, with its ups and downs, and ending my road racing career in the Tour of Slovakia, surrounded by the support and love of my fellow Slovaks, is a memory I will cherish forever."