Childhood & Early Life
Peter Sagan was born on January 26, 1990 in Zilina, Slovakia. He is the youngest child in his family and has two brothers, Milan and Juraj, and one sister, Danka. During his childhood, both of his parents, father Lubomir and mother Helena operated a small grocery store.
He began to ride bicycles when he was 9 years old, inspired by his older brother Juraj Sagan, who is also currently a professional cyclist.In 2007, Peter won the ‘Slovak Cup’ in which he competed using a bicycle loaned to him by his sister.
Peter won the ‘Junior World Championship’ for mountain bikes in 2008. In the same year, he placed second in the ‘Junior Paris-Roubaix’cyclocross competition.
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Career
Sagan began to compete professionally in 2009 when he cycled for ‘DuklaTrencin Merida’, a Slovakian cycling outfit. A few months later he joined the team ‘Quick Step’ but failed to sign a contract. His parents encouraged him to return to the sport.
In 2010, he signed a two-year contract with ‘Liquigas-Doimo’. During training camp, he impressed his sponsors by destroying several mountain bikes. The same year, he competed in the ‘Tour Down Under’ and crashed during the second stage, severely injuring his arm and thigh. Despite his injuries, Sagan completed the race.
During the 2010 ‘Paris-Nice’ road race, he won both the first and second stages. With determined effort, he pulled ahead to win the fifth stage in ‘Aix-en-Provence’. Because of his outstanding showing in the race, he was awarded the green jersey, given to the bicyclist with the most points during the racing year.
During the ‘2010 Tour of California’, Sagan successfully won the fifth and sixth stages of the race. He won both the ‘Youth Competition’ and the ‘Points jerseys’ but finished the race in eighth place.
In 2011, he finished first in the ‘Giro di Sardegna’ and claimed the green jersey for the most points after successfully claiming the first, third and fourth stages of the race.
At the ‘2011 Tour of California’, he successfully defended his green jersey, courtesy of his impressive win of stage five.
2011 continued to be a strong year for Sagan as he won the ‘Tour de Pologne’. Later in the year he defended his green jersey by winning the sixth, twelfth and twenty-first stages of the ‘Vuelta a Espana’.
He closed out the year by winning the ‘Slovak National Road Race Championships’. He also dominated the ‘GP Industria&Commercio di Prato’ and came in second place at the ‘Philadelphia International Championship’.
In 2012, he claimed the green jersey after an impressive showing at the ‘Tour of Oman’. He also successfully won stage four of the ‘Tirreno-Adriatico’ road race as well as the first stage of the ‘Three Days of De Panne’ race.
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Sagan maintained his grip on the green jersey after the ‘2012 Tour of California’. He handily won a total of five stages during the race.
In 2012, he competed in his first ‘Tour de France’, claiming the green jersey after winning the first, third and sixth stages. He was also awarded a jersey for showing Combativity on stage 14.
He closed out the year by winning the ‘Slovak National Road Race Championships’ and by coming in second during the ‘Gent-Wevelgem’ race.
He began 2013 by handily winning the ‘Slovak National Road Race Championships’ as well as the ‘Gent-Wevelgem’ race, ‘BranatsePijl’, ‘GrenPremioCitta di Camaiore’ and the ‘Grand Prix Cycliste de Montreal’.
Later in 2013, he claimed the green jersey at the ‘USA Pro Cycling Challenge’ after winning the first, third, sixth and seventh stages.
He continued to win by defending his jersey at the ‘2013 Tour de Suisse’, winning the third and eighth stages.
He dominated all other competitors at the ‘2013 Tour de France’ in the seventh stage and successfully claimed the green jersey.
2014 started off well for Sagan as he won the ‘Sloval Road Race Championships’ once again, as well as the ‘E3 Harelbeke’.
He continued his winning ways, claiming the points jersey at the ‘Tirreno-Adriatico’ after winning the third stage of the race. He defended his jersey at the ‘2014 Tour of California’, handily winning stage seven.
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Sagan defended his points jersey at the ‘2014 Tour de Suisse’ after winning stage three. He then competed in the ‘2014 Tour de France’, successfully maintaining the points jersey after winning stages 1-7.
He has started off 2015 with a disappointing sixth place at the ‘Tour of Qatar’ but has high hopes for the rest of the year.Both Peter Sagan and his brother Juraj signed a three-year sponsorship contract with ‘Tinkoff-Saxo’ starting the same year.
Facts About Peter Sagan
Peter Sagan is known for his quirky victory celebrations, including his signature move of mimicking a pistol shot with his hand.
Sagan is a talented artist and has showcased his artistic skills by designing his own custom helmets and cycling kits.
Despite his fierce competitiveness on the bike, Sagan is known for his playful and light-hearted personality off the saddle, often engaging in pranks and jokes with his fellow riders.
Sagan is a self-proclaimed foodie and enjoys cooking as a way to relax and unwind when he's not training or racing.
The Slovakian rider is also a big fan of classic rock music and has been seen playing the guitar in his spare time, showcasing his musical talents beyond cycling.
