Peter Sagan is getting ready to make his shock return to highway racing on the Tour de Hongrie on Wednesday with the Slovakian staff Pierre Baguette.
The three-time world champion ended his highway profession with TotalEnergies final 12 months and turned his focus to racing mountain bikes to attempt to qualify for the Paris Olympics. However, his makes an attempt have been halted when he skilled irregular coronary heart rhythms and needed to endure surgical procedure in February.
Sagan got here again rapidly after the primary process however then relapsed and had a second surgical procedure in March, and misplaced loads of health in the course of the month-long restoration, he stated.
“Now I’m already three weeks on the bike and again in coaching,” Sagan stated final week in a video on Cyclism’Actu.
At the Tour de Hongrie, he stated, “My expectation is to have some race kilometres, and for certain if I end the Tour of Hungary it’ll put me at one other degree. I’ve no massive concepts to do one thing as a result of I do know it’s extremely onerous – there are some riders who’re coaching from October, November, and December and did massive preparation earlier than this race, and I’m out of this due to the guts surgical procedure and restoration. I misplaced loads of preparation.
“After that, I’ll see how I really feel – if my downside is solved or it will come again. Nobody is aware of. I’ve no expectations. The subsequent plan I’m going to do I’ll set after Tour of Hungary.”
Sagan is reuniting together with his brother, former professional Juraj, and former Bora-Hansgrohe director Ján Valach within the Pierre Baguette staff.
“I’m very glad to be a part of this staff and to assist the younger guys,” Sagan stated. “I’m from Slovakia and now that is the most important staff in Slovakia. My brother is working within the staff and one other DS within the staff Ján Valach, we did like 10 years collectively in highway biking WorldTour.
“I’m very glad to be on this atmosphere and possibly give some expertise I had in my profession to the younger guys and see how they develop. Maybe to [help] some rider from this staff make it in biking.”
The Tour de Hongrie begins on Wednesday with a pan-flat stage from Karcag to Hajdúszoboszló.
“I do know that the primary two phases are actually flat for the sprinters after which the third stage has some climbs. After that, there are some phases up and down. There are many for the quick riders. I can count on some competitors as a result of loads of WorldTour riders are coming. I’m additionally glad to see a few of my pals from the outdated years,” Sagan stated.
He’ll be reunited on the beginning line by former dash rivals Mark Cavendish (Astana Qazaqstan), Dylan Groenewegen (Jayco AlUla), Sam Welsford (Bora-Hansgrohe) and Elia Viviani (Ineos Grenadiers).
