Peter Sagan’s victory at the 100th edition of the Tour of Flanders has confirmed the Slovakian as the best Classics rider in the peloton and further raised his value as he considers a series of offers for his long-term future.
Sagan avoids speaking about his future, letting his agent Giovanni Lombardi work quietly in the background. Sagan is focused on Sunday’s Paris-Roubaix. He will ride Wednesday’s Scheldeprijs race in support of fellow Slovakian rider Erik Baška but the Tinkoff wants to ensure he 'gets round safely' and tests his bike set up for Sunday’s cobbles.
Etixx-QuickStep, BMC and Trek-Segafredo are all reported to be interested in signing Sagan as they look to rebuild their Classics squads and secure the biggest names in the sport for the long-term future.
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Etixx-QuickStep urgently needs a replacement for the aging Tom Boonen, Philippe Gilbert is expected to leave BMC this year and Trek-Segafredo are looking to replace Fabian Cancellara. The arrival of Segafredo had provided the funding to sign Vincenzo Nibali and so target the Tour de France but the Italian has snubbed an offer and seems set to be part of the nascent Bahrain Cycling team. Sagan – who can win stages at the Tour de France and target the green points jersey is considered an excellent alternative signing.
Sagan has a contract with the Tinkoff team for 2017 but with team owner Oleg Tinkov having already announced that he will quit the sport at the end of this year, it seems that Sagan will be free to change teams if the Tinkoff team management fails to secure a major new sponsor. Team manager Stefano Feltrin has set the end of the Giro d’Italia as a key deadline and Sagan’s future is likely to have been decided by the time he starts the Tour de France.
Sagan earns a reported four million Euro per season but any new deal is likely to be worth even more after he confirmed his talent by winning the world road race title in Richmond in 2015 and then this year’s Tour of Flanders. Sagan has also become the biggest star of the peloton, with fans and sponsors attracted by his ability on the bike and also his spontaneity and sincerity off the bike. His long spell of placings in early season races before his victories at Gent-Wevelgem and the Tour of Flanders only endeared him to cycling fans around the world even more.
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