Peter Sagan has announced his intention to retire from road racing at the end of 2023 to target mountain biking Olympic gold.
Sagan, one of the most decorated and versatile cyclists of his generation, is a three-time world champion on the road and has won seven green jerseys at the Tour de France.
The Slovakian, 33, attempted a tilt at Olympic gold at Rio 2016, but finished 35th and more than a lap behind the winner in the men’s cross country mountain biking.
“This is the last year you will see me in World Tour races,” Sagan, who currently rides for TotalEnergies, confirmed at a race in Argentina.
“I’ll do some minor road races to reach the Olympics and from there we’ll see.”
Sagan added in a video message: “We’ll go on to carry out this incredible project to reach the Paris Olympics and race on mountain bike. I think it can be another nice adventure.”
Having started his career on mountain bikes and in cyclo-cross, Sagan emerged as a pre-eminent force in the peloton for much of the last decade, winning the Tour of Flanders in 2016 and Paris-Roubaix in 2018.
He became the first rider to win the men’s elite road race crown in three consecutive years.
Already a 12-time stage winner at the Tour de France, Sagan is targeting success at his farewell edition of the Tour de France in July.
The 33-year-old has not won a stage at the French race since 2019, when he also last secured points classification victory.
Great Britain’s Tom Pidcock secured mountain biking gold at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, and has hinted that he may wish to defend his title in Paris.
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