Peter Sagan to retire from WorldTour, focus on mountain bike Olympics

Peter Sagan, one of the most prolific and popular riders of his generation, confirmed the 2023 season will be his last year racing in the elite men’s WorldTour.

Sagan, who turned 33 on Thursday, said he will ride out this season with TotalEnergies and then transition to mountain biking and a bid to race in the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.

“The time has come to let everyone know this is my final year on road bikes as a professional,” Sagan said Thursday at a press conference. “I will stay with TotalEnergies and I’d like to focus more on qualifying for the mountain bike Olympics.”

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The announcement came on his birthday during a rest day at his season debut at the Vuelta a San Juan.

Team officials said the decision to transition away from road racing was made “some time ago,” and the decision comes following a few sub-par seasons wracked by COVID infections.

Sagan said he’ll will continue racing, including some road races in 2024, but underscored that the 2023 campaign will be his last fully dedicated to a full WorldTour-level calendar.

“This is not my goodbye,” Sagan said. “I will embark on a new adventure, and everyone will still see me again in these new projects.”

Sagan already competed in the mountain bike Olympic Games in 2016, and is putting off-road and the dream of an Olympic medal back at the center of his ambitions.

Sagan thanked his large circle of friends, teammates, staffers, and sponsors who have supported him since he burst onto the scene more than a decade ago.

Sagan is one of the leading lights of the Class of 1990, and won three world titles, seven green points jerseys, as well as Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix.