Tour de Suisse is considered to be the proving ground for the big Tour de France because it is no easy task to win the race. Many big names have only been able to take it in their stride only a few times. For instance, Mark Cavendish has only had three victories at the event and André Greipel has had none. Both of them have a well-established career, with Cavendish having 160 wins and Greipel with an astounding 158 victories.
View this post on Instagram
A name worth mentioning here is Peter Sagan, who had his 18th win of the Tour at stage three. Although the race is known to be not sprinter friendly, it looked like Peter was determined to have this 18th win to his name. Bryan Coquard (Cofidis) got fast but the Team Total Energies Sagan flew like a hawk, making it impossible for anyone to beat him. His team showed great confidence in him like they knew the day is theirs and Peter proved it too. He looked thankful for their trust in him as he said:
It’s just a stage win. I’m happy for that and happy for the team. They all did a great job pulling with another team all day. In the end, I just made it.
Although the Slovakian has had 120 victories in his career, with 3 back-to-back wins at world championships, He was out of his form for the last nine months. The rider, who holds a record of having the green jersey at the Tour de France seven times, only won about seven times since the pandemic.
View this post on Instagram
The “Only” here exists because much more is expected from the outstanding star. Some even thought that he might be approaching the end of his career at 32, but Peter cleared these speculations:
I start with cycling, and I’m good at this, and I have time. When I decide I want to stop, I want to stop and never come back. But I’m still going. I am still young, right?
The 32-year-old is striving hard to regain his old form ever since he was affected by Covid-19 for the second time this year. As a result of the illness, he had to miss out on Paris-Roubaix and the Tour of Flanders. He has been facing some hard time making a comeback:
It’s hard to get back in a racing mood after my sickness and three months without racing, I just needed some time
It does feel nice to see Sagan back in form after nine months, and Peter Sagan seems to agree:
Well, it’s nice to be back
Also read: Mont Ventoux Dénivelé: Ruben Guerreiro Single Handedly Delivers The Win
Featured Image Via YouTube/ All The Cycling
