"It Will be a Party" - Peter Sagan Plans to Race the eMTB World Champs

Aug 4, 2022
by Ed Spratt  
It s not just about power. Road cycling World Champion Peter Sagan had to deal with technical issues. He snapped a chain when train the start had a flat tire at course check in the morning and two more flats in the race finished 35th. It would be very interesting to see how he could do without theese

Pro road cyclist and past Junior XC World Champion Peter Sagan has revealed plans to participate in this year's eMTB World Championships at Les Gets.

First reported by La Gazzetta Della Sport, an Italian sports publication, Peter Sagan revealed his plans for the World Champs later this month while also adding: "I won't be able to be competitive and I'm not going for that. For me it will be a party."

The Slovakian rider started his riding career both on and off-road with an early win at the Junior World Championships in 2008, the same year Josh Bryceland won the Junior DH and Nino Schurter the U23 XC race. In more recent years, Sagan has raced the XC at the 2016 Olympics and a few big gravel races.

Sagan will most likely be using his sponsor Specialized's eMTB and has the potential to match Tom Pidock's 2020 success when he won the Leogang World Champs on a Specialized S-Works Turbo Levo.

The 2016 Olympics definitely did not go as well as he had hoped, but Sagan is known for his technical prowess on the road so we look forward to seeing how he fares on his eMTB.

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64 Comments
  • 171 0
 Did him dirty using a running pic
  • 30 0
 Agreed... low blow. Come on, the guy can ride a bike.
  • 15 0
 Isn't that after he got a flat while leading the Olympic XC race?!
  • 3 0
 @CamNeelyCantWheelie: tyres don't look flat in the picture...
  • 12 1
 *cough* image rights * cough*

I'm pretty certain that this is the only MTB image PB have of Sagan (I was part of commissioning the images from Rio 2016) - so to use anything else would be complicated and expensive.
  • 1 0
 @mattwragg: Worked picture desks at events run by similar governing bodies, this would make sense.
  • 63 13
 I see a lot of coverage of emtb racing but not a whole lot of response from viewers. Could it be that this “sport” is being shoved down our throats as badly as everyone expected?
  • 149 2
 I want to see a Pinkbike academy where they take eight middle aged dudes who like food and beer a bit too much and have them race ebikes.
  • 6 1
 Doesn’t exactly have a built in fan base lol
  • 5 0
 Needs fat(plus size) tires and I'm in!
  • 4 0
 @jrocksdh: Hell yeah brother
  • 9 42
flag d-man FL (Aug 4, 2022 at 9:34) (Below Threshold)
 Or they just prefer not to make stupid comments like yours....
  • 6 0
 For some reason this reminds me of MS forcing me to use an incomplete downgrade of a taskbar.
  • 4 1
 @HB208: I don't own an e-bike, but if they want to recruit me for this event, I'm in.
  • 25 5
 @HB208: Pinkbike, are you listening? Where do i sign up? I have full AXS on my moped and a Tesla so I could be the dentist character/villain of the series. You could probably buy everyone on staff a new work Tacoma from the ad revenue on the hate clicks alone! Robin, think of the money?!?! I also have a 1up rack, wear full face and goggles on every trail and love blue flow. Then I could have a redemption arc when everybody just figures out that I’ve just worked really hard all my life to get where I’m at and that I’m a good person.
  • 6 4
 @PHX77: Sorry you had to work hard just to be a dentist. Feelsaverageman.
  • 17 4
 @nvranka: I’m not actually a dentist but my bike spending is 10 out of 10 and my skills are 1.5 out of 10 so on pinkbike that makes me a dentist.

Also: whoosh
  • 1 1
 @jrocksdh: I already carry some... wait a minute
  • 5 2
 Just funny funny…eMTB World Championship
  • 2 1
 @PHX77: Tesla driver confirmed.
  • 4 2
 @PHX77: They could even have you work up to a black trail on your 170/170 moped
  • 3 1
 Hope there isn't any crossover between those taking the piss and those fans of Blevins (3rd last year) and Pidcock (previous eMTB World Champ)...

Looks like a blast to me!
  • 9 1
 It's like Formula E. The industry's paying for it and they'll keep paying for it, no matter how many times the races are held in front of empty stands.
  • 2 0
 @HB208: That would be a personal triumph for me!! Maybe I could even use more than 10% of my travel for once, just too see what it felt like.
  • 2 2
 @nvranka: I upvoted your comment.
  • 1 0
 @HB208: Hey, is there pretty good riding close by in boise? Example: could you ride in the morning and be back in boise in time to be at work? I went to a wedding there back in 2015 and fell in love with that place. I fantasizing about moving there.
  • 1 0
 @PHX77: You can DM me, but yeah. I mostly road bike in the mornings but depending on where you live, you can swing that for sure.
  • 1 0
 @HB208: they could call it: One More Lap
  • 12 1
 Xc e-bikes don't make any sense.
I really hope they would put together a track that would really test ebike riders with an emphasis on technical skills since if you have strong fitness.. well you should race regular XCO..
I imagine really steep uphills where it's not about power but traction - something impossible on a regular bike - enduro/DH style downhill, lots of turns and awkward features ... let's add some huge jumps..
That would be a format I would enjoy.. If it's to see a slightly faster XC race, we are missing the point!
  • 11 1
 That'll be another world title for Pidcock then.
  • 9 1
 "For me it will be a party." - sounds like I'd rather have Pete round for a beer rather than some of the cynical geezers commenting here.
  • 7 1
 Ebike racing launched Pidcock’s career, perhaps it could do the same for this Sagan kid. All the best to him.
  • 1 0
 lol
  • 2 0
 I doubt he would agree with you, U23 world champion and overall u23 world cup in same year.
  • 4 0
 Says he isn't a threat, but obviously has the ability to pedal through the motor so....
  • 2 4
 He wasn't a threat at the Unbound gravel race.
  • 6 0
 @ShredKC: I think he did unbound for fun, not to win it. Plus he is a sprinter, not a ultra endurance cyclist.
  • 9 0
 He was out there taking photos with fans and hanging out so not really racing... more for Specialized's publicity.

Maybe this will be the same thing? Good marketing for their Turbo Levo SL???
  • 10 0
 @HB208: But can ride 3400km in 19-days, so there is that...
  • 5 2
 @handynzl: Yeah, but he is sitting in the peloton most of the time and waiting to compete for the springs. Its a bit different, although I am sure if he put his mind to it he could be very competitive at unbound.
  • 5 0
 @HB208: 100%. I have a hard time believing anyone could hold Sagan's wheel if he trained and committed to Unbound the way all the other top finishers do.
  • 11 0
 @HB208: Sure...riding at 40km/h (plus, these days) for four or five hours for a 30-second all out effort is "sitting in the peloton". Good luck to you, Sir, to emulate that. Besides that, in his prime he would often animate the breakaway, even in mountain stages. He may have a weird voice, but I do feel you're being a touch harsh by just saying he is a sprinter - a "sprinter" is still an extremely fit, high endurance athlete in the World Tour and Continental Tour teams.
  • 2 0
 @Austin014: Oh for sure, especially since he could unleash a sprint none of them are capable of. Its just a format he hasn't trained specifically for, but yes, he is 100% capable and there are a few ex-TDF pros that are racing on the gravel scene.
  • 1 0
 @handynzl: That's how he races now, I am not saying he always raced that way. But no, Sagan wasn't competing for any of the mountain stages or creating breakaways this year in the TDF.
  • 3 0
 @HB208: No, nor was he really challenging on the sprints. IIRC he went for some primes, but never figured at the end of stage sprints. The 2022 Sagan is not the 2016 Sagan. The 2016 Sagan was racing in the TdF with an average speed of 39km/h won by Chris Froome. The 2022 Sagan raced the TdF that had an average speed of 42.4km by the end of all 21 stages. So he is 6 years older, but having to ride faster than he ever has (he still has to make the time cut offs, so a faster winner means a faster last place on the stage).
  • 4 0
 @ShredKC: If you actually had a clue with what happened, he lead the whole field to first rest stop, where he hung out for close to half an hour, talking to fans and taking selfies with them. He was there as a Specialized ambassador. Which is certainly why he is doing this. He did the Olympics to attempt to win a medal, since the road race is much more of a lottery and Slovakia only gets one, maybe two riders vs. France, Belgium, etc. who get full teams.
  • 3 0
 Hope the UCI continues to implement their checks for mechanical doping…oh wait…
  • 3 0
 muhahaha, muhahaha, muhahaha
  • 14 11
 lmao the picture of him walking the bike, sums the situation up nicely
  • 13 0
 Actually, he was running as he had a flat rear tyre. Indeed, he flatted twice at the 2016 Olympics and thus got lapped out of the event.
  • 7 2
 Check yo self. Peter Sagan can ride a road bike more places than an above-average-Joe can ride an ebike.
  • 4 2
 @handynzl: so it was poor line choice, got it
  • 3 0
 @f00bar: Yes. One through the little batch of trees, and once on one of the rock gardens.
  • 4 7
 @handynzl: Two punctures due to poor line choice, and poor technique....he had the fitness, but unlike on the road, the other MTB riders are a level above technically, despite people(mainly roadies) thinking he's on another level - he isn't.
  • 2 1
 @Starch-Anton: youre getting downvoted for telling facts, but its true,
  • 6 5
 Never heard of him. (please downvote me on bad sarcasm not ignorance… I’m kidding)
  • 13 0
 OH come on. Everyone knows who he is. He wrote a book about the COSMOS and stuff! GEEZ
  • 2 0
 @vRidge: this was gold, I hope I’m not the only one who got this.
  • 1 0
 @vRidge: Thank you so much jeebus that was great
  • 1 0
 so emoped race, finally uphill race UH
  • 3 4
 Mr Sagan claims it will be a party for him, he is in for a shock of his racing life.
  • 1 0
 @vRidge: you should warn him of his follies, he clearly doesn’t know what he’s doing
  • 1 0
 He says it to leave his options open… humblebrag if he does well/saving face if he doesn’t







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