Peter Sagan continues his dominant form with a second stage victory at the Tour de France overnight that now takes him to 15 wins for 2012.
The course finish on stage one and three suits his style of riding and he was always the favourite to take these stages but the manner in which he won last night was pure dominance. He sat up with about 20m to go and gave a little ‘shimmey’.
Cycling is supposed to be entertaining and Sagan is definitely bringing the x-factor to the Tour de France right now. He is 22 and thumping people on the biggest cylcing stage in the world so why not enjoy it while he can.
Cycling is a numbers game so here are some for Sagan from his stage 1 win:
– In the final 1.5km when Cancellara initiated the uphill sprint Sagan stayed on his wheel and averaged 493 watts in the last 2 minutes 20 seconds of the race (hate to think what Spartacus was cranking out).
-When Sagan shot past Cancellara at the finish he surged to 1,236 watts and averaged 970 watts in the final 200 metres. Huge numbers.
Sagan has power to burn and next years classics are going to be absolutely epic with Boonen, Spartacus and Sagan all going for it.
Throw in the likes of Chavanel – who’s attack with 5km to go was complete suicide but made for epic viewing and the Tour de France is looking the most exciting it has in years – and the real race for Yellow has not even kicked off yet!
Sagan really is the next superstar of the sport. His name has been talked about for a little while as a guy to watch but 2012 is clearly his year. Not only has he had 15 stage wins in 2012 – he also placed top 5 in the classics as follows:
4th Milan – San Remo
2nd Gent–Wevelgem
5th Tour of Flanders
3rd Amstel Gold Race
Stage 2 showed his confidence – when he was basically without any support, he grabbed Griepel’s wheel and hung onto it for dear life but also showed that he still has a ways to go against the likes of Goss, Griepel and Cavendish as they kicked well clear of him in the bunch sprint. Goss also ‘tapped him’ to get himself into position Sagan ended up sixth for the stage.
He will certainly get better in the bunch sprints. It is a skill set that takes time to develop and you need to practice this in races.
Sagan clearly has what it takes to be up there in the end when it matters so I fully expect him to improve dramatically in the bunch sprints over the next 6-12 months.
Given the Olympic Games course I also think he is a real threat. Boonen is another top tip for Gold given he is not racing the Tour de France and the course will suit the classics style riders.
Enjoy tha absolutely amazing cycling we are all privy to right now.
liquorbox_
Guest
A lot of pressure on him though, I think Liggett called him the new Merckx
Sean Lee
Expert
Amen to that!
Bones506
Roar Guru
I am thrilled, as I am certain everyone in cycling (including Armstrong), that the TDF has taken centre stage. Amazing week of sprints with a rising superstar and the battle for yellow has not even really kicked off. Cycling is growing and will continue to. No one man is bigger than any sport. There will be more doping and banning - it will always occur, but it is a sideshow.
Sean Lee
Expert
This is why cycling can move past its clouded, dope fuelled past. People predicting that cycling will die if Armstrong is found guilty and stripped of his 7 TdF's obviously don't follow the sport very closely. How can cycling die when a kid like Peter Sagan comes along and wows everyone like that? He is already a superstar and is the very reason why we all watch cycling in the first place. I share your mancrush Bones - good read!
Kit Harvey
Roar Guru
OUTRAGEOUS wattage by Sagan at the finish. Bam!