Some things just go together. Thunder and lighting, peaches and cream, tequila and bad decisions, and Peter Sagan and the green jersey. He has often made it appear easy but, as he targets a record-equalling sixth, the world champion says he's not bored of it yet.
"I try to do my best to get another one, and then the next year another one, and then maybe I'm bored," Sagan told a packed house at the Specialized store in the centre of Düsseldorf.
"I don't know. It's a very hard competition, the Tour de France; you have to concentrate for 21 days. It's not sure, to take a green jersey is very hard. You have to fight for that from the first day to the last one. It's hard, and for sure it's not boring."
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Sagan first won the points classification with his romping Tour de France debut in 2012 and has not looked like giving it up since. Over the years, many have tried and failed to rip the jersey from his grasp, and some will try again this year, but the closest anyone has got to achieving such a feat was André Greipel in 2015, who, even after winning four stages, was still 76 points shy of the Slovak's tally.
Last year was the zenith of Sagan's powers in that competition when it seemed that almost nothing and nobody could touch him. By the time he reached Paris, he had won three stages and had amassed 470 points, more than he had in any other year. Marcel Kittel, his closest rival had just 228.
There has been talk about how the 2017 course has opened up the general classification battle, giving many more riders a chance get into the top places, and it has also done the same to the competition for the green jersey. There are many more opportunities for the pure sprinters, while an in-form Michael Matthews (Team Sunweb) should give Sagan a run for his money. While it is almost impossible to look past the world champion after his previous performances, he refuses to take it for granted that he will be on that podium in Paris in just over three weeks.
Sagan and green: The story so far
The lean years
On top of his game
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