It’s Official, Tinkoff-Saxo Signs Sagan

Despite Oleg Tinkoff’s pronouncements on twitter, Tinkoff-Saxo has officially announced that Peter Sagan will join the team in 2015. The Slovak star and Tinkoff-Saxo have signed a 3-year contract with the shared ambition of further strengthening the team and taking the career of the three-time green jersey winner to an even higher level.

GLSM/peloton/Yuzuru Sunada

“We are happy and proud to present and welcome Peter Sagan on the team in 2015 on a long-term 3-year contract. Peter is without doubt one of the biggest talents in cycling and one of the biggest names already. He has a winning mentality, he’s visible and active in the finales and he, without doubt, has the ability to bring home victories”, says Bjarne Riis.

The new signing equally pleases team owner Oleg Tinkov, who was one of the main driving forces behind bringing Peter Sagan to Tinkoff-Saxo.

“Peter Sagan is a great rider and it is my honor to have him on our team. I believe that Tinkoff-Saxo is the best team for Peter and I’m absolutely sure that he’ll win many races with us. I am excited”, concludes Oleg Tinkov, as he welcomes the Slovak champion. The Russian businessman had denied signing Sagan earlier in the week on twittter, but posted today that they had already agreed on terms in January.

We agreed with Peter even in January, I don't understand why you underestimate med me these months 🙂 ? Am I looking not convincing enough?

— Oleg Tinkov (@olegtinkov) August 8, 2014

As a combined sprinter, puncheur and classics specialist Peter Sagan has, despite his young age, emerged victorious in an array of different races including three point classifications in a row at Tour de France, seven GrandTour stage wins and several one-day races. But Bjarne Riis sees further potential and room for improvement when looking at the 24-year old Slovak champion.

How is green jersey ambitions at the Tour de France synch with Alberto Contador’s yellow jersey desires remains to be seen and was not addressed by Tinkoff or Riis, although a specific defense of his green jersey was not mentioned.

“It will be exciting to work with Peter also for me personally. He has a huge talent and he’s already very strong but I believe he has even more potential than what we’ve seen so far. He still has a lot to learn about the tactical aspects of cycling to fully optimize his power but I believe that we are fully able to help him improve even more. Next year, we’ll have a very strong team to support him and to aim for big wins throughout the season”, concludes Bjarne Riis.