Peter Sagan walked away from Total Energies and, in theory, professional road racing last year but the retirement was not complete. The final chapter may have been written when he first waved goodbye at the Tour de Vendée in France in September last year, but there was still an epilogue to come, with the last line of that written on the final stage of the Tour de Slovakia on Sunday.
This time the 34-year-old, with the rainbow bands on his sleeve to remind fans of his three road race World Championships victories, made it a home nation farewell. He was wearing the colours of Pierre Baguette Cycling – a Continental team where Sagan’s brother Juraj is a DS – as he once again closed the doors on a road cycling career that has lasted more than 14 years. This time, seemingly, for good.
"I still remember my first stage at the Tour Down Under on January 19th, 2010," said Sagan in an Instagram post.
"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."
The appreciation from the fans on Sunday's farewell on the road to Štrbské Pleso may have been one of the 'ups' this year, but there have been a fair number of 'downs', too. Last year the Slovakian, who has won 12 stages of the Tour de France and the green points jersey seven times, was walking away from road cycling with an Olympic mountain bike goal the clear focu. But the already tough task of making sure the nation qualified for a spot became even harder when health problems intervened.
Sagan's path back into the discipline where he cut his teeth in racing was interrupted by abnormal heart rhythms. He had a quick comeback from a February operation but then more problems resulted in more surgery in March which drove his mountain bike hopes even further from reach as the chances to gain qualifying points for the Olympic Games vanished.
In May the rider started his brief return to the road at the Tour de Hongrie and then took to the start line at the Tour of Slovakia from June 26 to June 30, delivering a final goodbye.
"After so many years on the road, it’s hard to believe that my journey in professional road racing has come to an end," said Sagan. "Today, crossing the finish line at the [Tour de Slovakia] was a moment filled with mixed emotions – sadness, nostalgia, but also pride and joy."
"It’s a bittersweet feeling to say goodbye to this chapter of my professional career, but I couldn’t have asked for a more perfect place to do it than here, in my home country and my home race."
