Cycling news - Peter Sagan may soon need a new team, says Bora-Hansgrohe team manager Ralph Denk
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Updated 30/03/2021 at 17:28 GMT
Peter Sagan impressed as he won stage six of the Volta a Catalunya after coming back from a winter bout of the coronavirus, but he is facing competition from a crop of younger riders. His team manager at Bora-Hansgrohe, Ralph Denk, has made it clear in an interview that the Slovakian could find himself looking for a new team in 2022.
Peter Sagan
Image credit: Getty Images
Bora-Hansgrohe manager Ralph Denk has raised doubts over the future of Peter Sagan at the German team.
The 31-year-old Slovakian joined Bora-Hansgrohe in 2017 and in his time with them he has won 25 races, as well as three green jerseys in the Tour de France.
However the emergence of Mathieu van der Poel, Wout van Aert, Egan Bernal and a crop of younger riders have seen Sagan’s future called into question.
Sagan endured a bout of the coronavirus over the course of the winter, but he was able to win a stage of the Volta a Catalunya as he attempted something of a comeback.
Denk told Kolner Stadt-Anzeiger that Sagan’s time with the team, where he is said to earn between five and six million euros a year, could soon be up.
“Peter is entering the fall of his career,” Denk said. “The outcome of our conversations is open.
“We would like to make a decision in April but I don’t dare say which way things are going.
“We are very grateful for what Peter has meant to us. The sponsors have received a lot of attention thanks to him, but he will be entering the fall of his career.
“We also have to consider whether we still want to pay for that, or is it better to invest that money in youth?
“If Peter doesn’t stay, I have a lot of money available. The sponsors trust that I can put together the best possible team with the money.”
As well as Bernal, Van Aert and Van der Poel, Denk namechecked both Tadej Pogacar and Julian Alaphilippe in the top five of the sport, but does not believe he will move for them as: “I would be a bad team boss of I didn’t want one of these superstars in the team, but it has to fit.
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'I feel great!' - Sagan after his stage win
“At the moment I don’t see any of these with us in the near future, because there are existing contracts or because of the philosophy there doesn’t fit.”
“Maybe we’ll create our own star,” he continued. ” That would be the cooler story. Maybe Lennard Kämna and Maximilian Schachmann are candidates for this role.
“They have already shown outstanding performances and they still have great potential. I will let myself be surprised.”
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