Peter Sagan to return for Milano-Torino and Milan-San Remo

CARPEGNA, Italy (VN) — Peter Sagan will be back in the saddle next week in time for the Italian classics.

TotalEnergies officials confirmed to VeloNews that Sagan, who pulled out of Tirreno-Adriatico this week, will race both Milano-Torino on Wednesday and Milan-San Remo on Saturday.

Speaking to reporters earlier in the race, Sagan said he was feeling good coming into the critical spring classics period.

“We will see how the legs are coming along,” Sagan said. “I am coming in late into the season. I hope the legs are good for the coming races. We’ll see.”

That was before the left Tirreno-Adriatico with fever and a bad stomach in stage 3.

Also read:

• TotalEnergies boss: ‘We are one of best classics teams with Sagan on board’
• Bodnar: ‘I’m convinced Peter Sagan can win the biggest races’
• Sagan leaves Tirreno-Adriatico with fever, bad stomach

Sagan kicked to fourth in stage 2, and the top-5 was Sagan’s best result since he won the overall at the Slovakia tour in September.

“Fourth place? It could have been better, it could have been worse,” Sagan said after the stage. “They had the speed coming from behind.”

Sagan is fighting back from a second COVID-19 infection this winter, and is hoping to regain form in time for the spring classics.

In seven race days so far in 2022, his fourth-place Tuesday was the first top-10 since he switched to TotalEnergies in a high-profile deal.

Sagan has twice finished second at the Italian monument, and has crossed the line fourth the past three straight editions.

First he will race Milano-Torino, the one-day classic that’s been moved from its traditional spot on the October calendar to liven up the week between the end of Tirreno-Adriatico on Sunday and Milan-San Remo on Saturday.