World champion Peter Sagan confirms he will race at Santos Tour Down Under

CYCLING world champion Peter Sagan is the first big-name international rider to confirm he will race the Santos Tour Down Under in Adelaide in January.

Tinkoff’s Peter Sagan, wearing the green jersey, outsprints KatushTour Down Under. Picture: Chris Graythen (Getty Images)

CYCLING world champion Peter Sagan is the first big-name international rider to confirm he will race the Santos Tour Down Under in Adelaide in January.

The Slovakian superstar, who has won the green jersey at the Tour de France for the past five years, will return to the race for the first time since 2010, when it launched his professional career.

Sagan will race in Adelaide from January 14-22 with his new team Bora-Hansgrohe and will also headline the TDU’s legend’s night dinner just hours after the penultimate stage up Old Willunga Hill.

He is expected to be joined on the start line by Australian Tour de France star Richie Porte, who has confirmed he plans to open his season in Adelaide after his 2016 campaign was cut short by a broken shoulder in the Rio Olympic road race.

Sagan’s commitment to returning to the TDU is a major coup for organisers who had to watch the world champion shun this year’s race and instead open his season at the second-tier Tour de San Luis in Argentina, which made a farce of the UCI’s WorldTour.

But the flamboyant sprinter says he is excited to return to Adelaide, where he waged a thrilling battle with Cadel Evans and Alejandro Valverde on Willunga Hill in 2010.

“The Santos Tour Down Under holds a special place in my heart,” Sagan said.

“Returning after seven years to the race that set off my professional career is a great feeling and I look forward to riding on the roads of Adelaide and South Australia.

“The iconic race brings the world’s best riders on a course that features tough climbs and fast sprints and I’m convinced its 19th edition could be the best so far.”

Like a lot of the field, Sagan is expected to remain in Australia after the TDU to race the one-day Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race on January 29, which has been promoted to the WorldTour for the next three years.

SA Sports Minister Leon Bignell described Sagan’s presence in the TDU as a “huge win” for the state.

“He is a champion of the sport and a great character on and off the bike,” Bignell said.

“The TDU will kick off the 2017 international season and will be Sagan’s first race wearing the Bora-Hansgrohe colours.

“The legends’ night dinner will also be incredible with Peter honoured for his highly decorated career in front of his passionate legion of cycling fans.”

Earlier this year TDU race director Mike Turtur promised a few surprises in the 2017 field and in the first week of September he has already delivered a big fish.

It is also hoped that Tour de France champion Chris Froome will ride in Adelaide, after he raced the Herald Sun Tour instead this summer.

“The race and the fans are in store for something special next year when he (Sagan) tackles the (Willunga) climb for the second time,” Turtur said.

“He has had an outstanding season to date, not just with his Tour de France campaign but with victory at the one-day classics, Tour of Flanders and Gent-Wevelgem.”

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Originally published as World champion Peter Sagan confirms he will race at Santos Tour Down Under