Retiring Sagan has no interest in comparing cycling eras: "The debate will never end"

Sagan won his three rainbow jerseys in consecutive years — 2015, 2016 and 2017. With three world titles to his name, he shares the record with Alfredo Binda, Rik van Steenbergen, Eddy Merckx and Óscar Freire. He also won two Monuments, Paris-Roubaix and the Tour of Flanders. In the Tour de France, he claimed a total of twelve stage victories and took home the green jersey seven times. A truly remarkable career, though his performances no longer reach the same heights as in his prime.

"I can’t hit the same wattages I used to," Sagan explains. "I still exercise a lot, and I still ride my bike, but I have to admit that I definitely don’t have the same fitness I had as a pro." What he enjoys most now is the social aspect of cycling, though he sometimes rides indoors. "I love riding with people or on an online platform, but it’s very different from how it was before."

With the incredible performances in cycling today, like Tadej Pogacar's stellar year, the sport is increasingly being compared to past eras. Sagan was asked about this, but he has little interest in such comparisons. "You can’t compare the cycling of today with that of five, ten or fifteen years ago. It’s something we’ll never truly know."

"I don’t race against them anymore, but I only competed against them later in my career," the Slovak reflects on his final years racing against Pogacar, Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert. "Cycling has changed so much in recent years that it’s not comparable. It’s like trying to compare the sport to the era of Eddy Merckx. We can talk about it, but that debate will never end. We’ll just never know."

Still, the Slovak enjoys watching races like the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix, as well as some stages in the Tour de France and Vuelta. And, of course, he too witnessed Pogacar's dominance. "He’s strong everywhere. In the future, he might even tackle Paris-Roubaix. Everything he’s already won is really special in this era of cycling," the three-time world champion concludes.