Peter Sagen
Fans of the Amgen Tour of California should be familiar with the name Peter Sagan. The 22-year-old Slovak cyclist won two stages there in 2010, one in 2011 and five stages in 2012.
He also won four stages at the Tour de Suisse last month.
Now he’s setting the 2012 Tour de France on fire, becoming the youngest cyclist to win a stage at the three-week bike race since Lance Armstrong won Stage 8 in 1993 at age 21.
On Sunday, the Liquigas cyclist exploded out of the front pack on an uphill finish in Searing, Belgium, on Stage 1. Locked on overall leader Fabian Cancellara’s rear wheel, he sped around the RadioShack cyclist for the victory.
He sat up and gestured with his hands on his shoulders as he rolled across the finish.
He told interviewers after the race:
“We thought my best move was to attack in the ascent, and Cancellara did so too, so I had to keep an eye on him. In the end, I managed to leave him behind. It bothered me a little, not to be able to make a gap, but he’s pretty strong though. So I think it was better to save a little energy.”
Sagan has been winning races at the pro tour level since he was 19, when he gained his first two wins at Paris-Nice in 2010.
This is Sagan’s first victory in his first Tour de France, and his 13th this year. By this time Monday, we might now whether he’ll be challenging the likes of Mark Cavendish for domination among the sprinters.
Top 10 overall
1. Fabian Cancellara (Swi) RadioShack-Nissan
2. Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Sky Procycling — 7 seconds
3. Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Omega Pharma-QuickStep — same time
4. Tejay van Garderen (USA) BMC Racing Team — 10 seconds
5. Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Sky Procycling — 11 seconds
6. Denis Menchov (Rus) Katusha Team — 13 seconds
7. Philippe Gilbert (Bel) BMC Racing Team — same time
8. Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team — 17 seconds
9. Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale — 18 seconds
10. Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Garmin – Sharp — same time
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