Peter says Sagan-ara to green jersey by joining Contador's team

The UCI’s transfer window officially opened on August 1 and already we’ve seen notable moves, some effective immediately, others which won’t take effect until next season.

South Aussie Rohan Dennis has slipped out of the blue of Garmin and into the red of BMC, in a mid-season transfer.

FDJ’s Nacer Bouhanni will also be in red, at Cofidis, but he can’t wear his new kit until January first next year.

And Peter Sagan has reportedly signed for Tinkoff-Saxo, saying goodbye to the Cannondale team he has dominated for the past four years.

Since winning at Pro-Tour level for the first time in Stage 3 of the 2010 edition of Paris-Nice, ‘The Terminator’ has racked up a super impressive 61 professional wins.

Sagan hasn’t been as prolific as Mark Cavendish, who’s won 65 of his 118 races since 2010, or Andre Greipel (72 of his 105), but of course he’s also won the past three green jerseys at the Tour de France.

All these have been in the green of Liquigas/Cannondale, which has announced it will be pulling out as a team sponsor at the end of the season. Reports Cannondale may merge with, or pick up the remnants of the Garmin team are yet to be confirmed.

So it was clear Sagan would be riding in different colours next year, and with his record and ability would be naming his price.

Many thought he’d be snapped up by Fernando Alonso’s new team, but the long-rumoured move into cycling by the Formula One ace is still no closer to reality. The other reportedly interested team, Astana, also seems to have missed out.

So according to Slovak media, Oleg Tinkoff has swooped and signed Sagan. What happens from now is unclear. Assuming everyone stays fit, how will Tinkoff-Saxo manage an Alberto Contador/Peter Sagan combination at the Tour de France?

Yes, there are lots of other events on the calendar, and Tinkoff-Saxo’s superb line-up should win some big races in 2015. But as Sagan’s new teammate Michael Rogers intimated a few weeks ago, the Tour really is the only race that matters.

To recap exactly what a slightly troubled Rogers said during the first rest day of this year’s Tour de France, “It’s the like Tour is 98 per cent and the rest of the races are 2 per cent and because of that the sponsors want the maximum value for their money.”

For the riders this translates into massive pressure to win races, pressure that is already huge at le Tour.

And this won’t change next year, when you’d imagine a fit Albert Contador will want to atone for crashing out on Stage 10 and stop Vincenzo Nibali from defending the title he claimed in dominant fashion.

You’d also assume that Sagan will want to add another green jersey to his personal collection. After all, why stop at three when at just 24, Sagan is closing in on Eric Zabel’s (now tainted) record of six points titles?

Given Sagan didn’t actually win any stages at the 101st edition of the Tour, there is a possibility he’ll just target stage wins next July. As yet of course, Sagan hasn’t outlined his aims for the 2015 Tour, but I can’t see him surrendering such a cherished goal. That said, Sagan not chasing green would suit Contador perfectly.

Yellow has to be Tinkoff’s priority, and it’s hard to see Bjarne Riis putting a team together that can bring home both the yellow and green jerseys.

It’s not impossible of course, as it’s happened in the past 20 years. But what can you say about the 1997 Tour, where T-Mobile’s Eric Zabel took home the third of his six green jerseys, and compatriot Jan Ullrich wore yellow in Paris? Zabel has since admitted to doping from 1996 to 2003, while sadly, Ulrich’s later transgressions cast huge doubt over the legitimacy of his ’97 victory.

In 2012 Team Sky headed into July with an awesome line-up, including Bradley Wiggins, Chris Froome and Mark Cavendish.

Cav had moved over from HTC-Highroad, bringing with him the green jersey he won in 2011.

Team Principal Dave Brailsford outlined Sky’s strategy ahead of the race.

“Our priority this year is the general classification with Bradley but that doesn’t mean we’ll neglect the sprint stages, or Mark’s bid for green jersey.

“Chris, Mick (Rogers) and Richie (Porte) are among our strongest climbers and will all be there to support Bradley in the mountains, but then we’ve got riders like Christian (Knees) and Kosta (Siutsou) who have strong engines on the flats, and versatile riders like Edvald (Boasson Hagen) and Bernhard (Eisel) who can support Mark in the sprints,” Brailsford said.

Even Cavendish was uncertain whether Sky could deliver him his goal, although he seemed happy enough to toe the team line.

“I know the push for the GC podium will make it more difficult for me to repeat the success I’ve enjoyed the last few years. But I’ll compete and – as always – I’ll dedicate myself to making it a successful Tour for Team Sky and, let’s hope, for Britain,” he said.

After winning an incredible five stages and the green jersey in 2011, Cavendish had to wait until the final stage to taste victory in 2012. Adding to the pain, Cav’s points tally of 220 was a massive 201 behind winner Sagan.

Even if he hadn’t crashed out, Contador may not have won the Tour this year, but he was the favourite in many people’s eyes. You’d imagine he’ll be even more determined to make amends in 2015.

Right now, this will be the furthest thing from Oleg Tinkoff’s mind, but surely it must have been in Peter Sagan’s as he committed his highly prized signature to a bumper new contract.

There’s plenty of racing to come before then, but those 23 days in July 2015 are already shaping up as a tantalising prospect.