After COVID setback, Sagan will seek classics form at Catalunya
Peter Sagan, who just finished Tirreno-Adriatico, will skip the E3 Saxo Bank Classic and Gent-Wevelgem and instead race the Volta a Catalunya as he looks to build towards his main objectives for Classics season: the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix.
The Volta a Catalunya announced on Monday that Sagan would be making his debut at the race later this month, and Bora-Hansgrohe confirmed to CyclingTips that the team saw riding another stage race as better preparation for Flanders and Roubaix after Sagan’s bout with COVID-19 set him back in training earlier this year.
Sagan addressed his form and his calendar in an interview with reporters at Tirreno-Adriatico.
“We decided as a team it could be much better to try Catalunya, you know, preparation because I missed races in January, I missed races in February, and this is my first race,” Sagan said.
Sagan explained that he took a 14-day break from his training plan due to COVID-19, and as such is still working to get to his desired fitness level. The Volta a Catalunya, a WorldTour stage race that features plenty of climbing, should provide ample opportunity for Sagan to continue improving his form.
Before he heads to the Volta a Catalunya, however, Sagan will take on Milan-San Remo this weekend. He has often started among the pre-race favorites for the Italian Monument, but he has never won the race.
“I started the Tirreno with little preparation. Milan-Sanremo will be a lottery for me,” he said. “That can turn out well or badly. And then another week of hard racing awaits me in the Volta a Catalunya. I’ll give it a try and we’ll see what it turns out to be. Another week of hard racing seems to us to be the best way to prepare for the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix.”
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