# Sagan = Young Thor?



## Wookiebiker (Sep 5, 2005)

Watching P. Sagan he reminds me of a young Thor...He doesn't have the best sprint, but is very good, can climb better than most sprinters and does well on uphill sprints.

He is fun to watch and it will be interesting to see if he develops into a classics rider or if he tries to become more of a pure sprinter.


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## atpjunkie (Mar 23, 2002)

*I think*

Sagan will wind up with better palmares than Thor when all is said and done


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## JohnHenry (Aug 9, 2006)

atpjunkie said:


> Sagan will wind up with better palmares than Thor when all is said and done


I agree.


Sagan has a better sprint than Thor, imho.

I feel like he can go from short or long way out and he appears to have a pretty good tactical head on his shoulders. 
Though, i feel like he could do a little more in the intermediate sprint. 

Today, stage 2, will be a great tell of the tape. It is pretty wide open and the best of the world are all gathered together.


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## JohnHenry (Aug 9, 2006)

Wookiebiker said:


> Watching P. Sagan he reminds me of a young Thor...He doesn't have the best sprint, but is very good, can climb better than most sprinters and does well on uphill sprints.
> 
> He is fun to watch and it will be interesting to see if he develops into a classics rider or if he tries to become more of a pure sprinter.


He doesnt wilt on the climbs and that helps.


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## spookyload (Jan 30, 2004)

I could see Sagan winning the World Championships this year.


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## foto (Feb 7, 2005)

spookyload said:


> I could see Sagan winning the World Championships this year.


How many riders is Slovakia bringing? Looks like they are currently 9th...

So next question, how strong is a 9 man Slovakian team?


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## zosocane (Aug 29, 2004)

Sagan has the ability to win all 5 monuments, with L-B-L being the tricky one. He can win MSR, Flanders, Roubaix and Lombardia (with its long downhill). And I do think he can do L-B-L one day. I agree that World's are very much within reach for this kid. He finished 3rd in Amstel on the same finish up the Cauberg. 

With Nibali gone and Basso's best days done, he is the new leader of Liquigas, with Elia Viviani the team's other sprinter. They need to get Sagan a solid lead-out train or I see him ending up at a BMC or Quickstep or Saxobank in 2014.


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## davidka (Dec 12, 2001)

I think he's already better than Thor ever was. What he did at California and Suisse? Unheard of.. Today he seems more like Oscar Friere to me.

I can't see him winning Flanders or Lombardia for some years yet. He still doesn't climb steeper stuff like the best classics guys but his covering Cancellara yesterday when nobody else could was very impressive. He's still only 22 so who knows where he'll go?


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## thechriswebb (Nov 21, 2008)

I think a better comparison for Sagan would be to Sean Kelly. I could see him following a similar career path as well, starting as a sprinter who could become a dominant classics specialist that could possibly race for GC in stage races as he matures. Kelly won a stage and finished 34th on GC in his first Tour de France, at the age of 22.


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## johnny dollar (Jul 21, 2010)

Win, Peter, win!


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## Dan Gerous (Mar 28, 2005)

Hasn't Sagan in 2.5 seasons won more races than Thor in his whole career? Of course, Sagan hasn't won the World Championships.... yet.


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## coop (Jun 8, 2008)

He seems a bit like Bettini to me at this moment. Probably faster, but very similar abilities.


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## AJL (Jul 9, 2009)

Bigger engine than Bettini, I think. Which we've started to see in some prologs - like we did with Thor. I think that thechrisweb has suggested a likely development path that Sagan could take. Time will tell. Certainly he is a huge talent.


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## Schlitzer (Jun 21, 2012)

*Really?*

One of today's announcers declared him 'The Next Eddie' ... Think it was Phil who made that comment. Sagan is obviously a huge talent, but come TF On!???


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## cbk57 (Aug 12, 2009)

I will be watching to see if he shows improvement in this tour on long climbs and in the ITT. He looks like at the moment the great prospect of the new young riders. If he looks like he gets stronger in this tour and handles the mountains well he may be something really special. I don't see him as just a sprinter as he is showing ability in short prologs and in uphill finishes.


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## foto (Feb 7, 2005)

hahahha this is getting funny. MTF in Pyrenees...

"Anyone see what happened to Sagan? I thought he would have been up at front at the finish"


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## Dan Gerous (Mar 28, 2005)

Schlitzer said:


> One of today's announcers declared him 'The Next Eddie' ... Think it was Phil who made that comment. Sagan is obviously a huge talent, but come TF On!???


Since when Phil and Paul have a clue? Can't stand them, especially senile Phil. I prefer the David Harmon and Sean Kelly duo, they seem to know what they're talking about and they don't say the same things 47 times per hour...


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## Timbuctoo (Apr 23, 2009)

Pretty good first TDF especially at his age can't get much better. Right now I see him as a guy that could win the green jersey for quite a few years running. While he's young and a risk taker green is good for him. 
Now if he could loose some serious weight, TT a little bit more consistantlyand get an older mans head on his shoulders he could one day be a GC threat, that's why Eddie was so good he was awesome at everything. A certain Spanish rider from the 90s went on a weight loss spree and how many Grand Tour wins did he have. Bradley Wiggins is another, during his track racing days he was quite a bit heavier and after some weight loss he's now a GC favourite.
I'm not sure how he'll climb in the second week but no one should under estimate him. Right now though maturity and weight are his biggest issues. Talent he has enough of!!


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## cpark (Oct 13, 2004)

Kind of remind me of young Jalabert....
I love the way the kid rides.


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## EuroSVT (Sep 15, 2011)

Watch the slow-mo of yesterdays crash near the line...Sagan easily tailwhiped around the carnage. Super good bike skills!


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## cpark (Oct 13, 2004)

EuroSVT said:


> Watch the slow-mo of yesterdays crash near the line...Sagan easily tailwhiped around the carnage. Super good bike skills!


I think you jinxed him....


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## EuroSVT (Sep 15, 2011)

cpark said:


> I think you jinxed him....


I'd hate to take that away from Phil Liggett, labeling Sagan "the next Eddy Merckx" and all 



* But hell, the kid *still* managed to avoid the initial flying bodies and all. Seemed in the end someone coughed a bike up at him and that was that. Anyway we can blame Tyler for this, so Liggett & I can get a free pass


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## vismitananda (Jan 16, 2011)

EuroSVT said:


> I'd hate to take that away from Phil Liggett, labeling Sagan "the next Eddy Merckx" and all
> 
> * But hell, the kid *still* managed to avoid the initial flying bodies and all.


This P. Sagan has a lot of luck under his sleeves, and I think he's good at evading crashes although you can't really avoid them in some circumstances. But as we all see, he's a bada$$.

Did Phil said that? Oh well, IMHO nobody in today's pro peloton has ever manage to come close with the Cannibal.

I find Sagan as an all rounder, rather than a pure sprinter. Maybe the next Armstrong?


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## TerminatorX91 (Mar 27, 2011)

atpjunkie said:


> Sagan will wind up with better palmares than Thor when all is said and done


Yep...


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## TerminatorX91 (Mar 27, 2011)

Schlitzer said:


> One of today's announcers declared him *'The Next Eddie'* ... Think it was Phil who made that comment. Sagan is obviously a huge talent, but come TF On!???


You should know that about 99.99% of the times you'll ever hear that the person who's saying it is wrong. Count on it. Bet lots of money on if you can. Seriously.


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## davidka (Dec 12, 2001)

coop said:


> He seems a bit like Bettini to me at this moment. Probably faster, but very similar abilities.


Until today I thought he needed difficult finishes to win (like Bettini) but today was a drag race and he won. To be fair, Griepel hit the deck twice and was in a lot of pain. He was excellent to even hold onto Lotto's train, let alone get 2nd. 

Sagan will have to start racing from breaks to win the really big stuff. Problem is, nobody wants a field sprint winner in the break with them.


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## Drummerboy1975 (Mar 14, 2012)

He has Zues and Eddy Merckx's DNA running through him.


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## 55x11 (Apr 24, 2006)

Dan Gerous said:


> Hasn't Sagan in 2.5 seasons won more races than Thor in his whole career? Of course, Sagan hasn't won the World Championships.... yet.


I think Sagan has great potential, but let's not forget that Thor has done some great things too: 10 individual stages at the Tour (plus 2 TTT wins), stage wins at every major Tour, World Champs, 2 points classifications wins at the Tour and one at Vuelta, classics, etc.

The way he is going, Sagan can match Thor's impressive resume, but let's not forget about 10 tours that Contador was supposed to win, or about how Basso (or Valverde or Schleck) is next Tour Dominator, a-la Armstrong, or about Cunego, Oscar Sevilla, Karpets and others who showed a lot of early promise to never quite live up to those expectations.


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## Schlitzer (Jun 21, 2012)

EuroSVT said:


> I'd hate to take that away from Phil Liggett, labeling Sagan "the next Eddy Merckx" and all
> 
> 
> 
> ...


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## coop (Jun 8, 2008)

I think we're just scratching the surface of what his kid could end up being. He went up against a wounded Gorilla today, but Goss was healthy. He does most everything good, some things great, and he's just 22. I really don't think it's unrealistic for him to some day win a Grand Tour, or certainly a monument.


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## velodog (Sep 26, 2007)

He showed up at stage 6 with a bell on his bike.
He's not only racing he's having fun.

I'd call him The first Peter Sagan.


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## pdh777 (Oct 7, 2005)

I think it was actually Paul who made the Eddie comparison - he then shut up for a minute after he realized what he had said - absurd comment and he knew it.


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## B05 (Jul 31, 2011)

and got a great sense of humor to boot










lol...


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## EuroSVT (Sep 15, 2011)

Sagan looked to be giving an interview while on the road today, right after the sprint. Who does that, lol


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## EuroSVT (Sep 15, 2011)




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## Skewer (Sep 13, 2011)

Sagan isn't a good climber.


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## EuroSVT (Sep 15, 2011)

Skewer said:


> Sagan isn't a good climber.


Good climbers rarely rock maillot vert. I haven't been paying attention to the last two stages...where did the other sprinters end up at?


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## davidka (Dec 12, 2001)

Skewer said:


> Sagan isn't a good climber.


Compared to who? He's no Contador but he can go uphill pretty well. He's had to in order to contest some of the sprints he's won in the past.


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## foto (Feb 7, 2005)

There is already a term for Sagan's riding style:

puncheur.

He is not a pure sprinter, he is not a climber.


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## foto (Feb 7, 2005)

It seems the bell didn't make it to the end of the stage...


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## 67caddy (Nov 4, 2009)

I agree with Chris Webb. The best comparison is Sean Kelly. Sagan has all the attribute Kelly had when he entered pro racing. Sagan seems a likeable enough guy. Let's just hope he continues to have the work ethic and lack of a major ego like Sean Kelly always did. That's one of the reasons I really like Kelly. He was and still is a no nonsense kind of guy. With all the classic wins and green jerseys he took, he NEVER played some of the prima donna bullshit that a lot of the pros now do. If something didn't go his way he would just shrug "that's racing".


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## Dan Gerous (Mar 28, 2005)

foto said:


> It seems the bell didn't make it to the end of the stage...


Actually, it didn't make it to the start... He asked the mechanics to put one as a joke... and they did put one (wondering why they have bells in their trucks) and then it made for some good fun and marketing. But it was taken off before the start.


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## foto (Feb 7, 2005)

Dan Gerous said:


> Actually, it didn't make it to the start... He asked the mechanics to put one as a joke... and they did put one (wondering why they have bells in their trucks) and then it made for some good fun and marketing. But it was taken off before the start.


So everyone is like "oh he put a bell on his bike, awesome!" Thinking he actually rode the stage with it like that.

But all he did was have someone else put the bell on, take a picture, and then take it off?

Not so cool after all.


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## allison (Apr 19, 2006)

Dan Gerous said:


> Actually, it didn't make it to the start... He asked the mechanics to put one as a joke... and they did put one (wondering why they have bells in their trucks) and then it made for some good fun and marketing. But it was taken off before the start.


Could be mistaken, but it seemed to be on his "Tourminator" bike, which he wasn't on at the end of that stage.


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## B.Garcia (Nov 21, 2011)

*The real reason!*



foto said:


> It seems the bell didn't make it to the end of the stage...


The real reason it didnt make it to the end or even start is because it wasn't UCI legal!

Anyways This made me laugh


Tour de France 2012 - Peter Sagan vs. Forrest Gump (HD) - YouTube


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## pulser955 (Apr 18, 2009)

B.Garcia said:


> The real reason it didnt make it to the end or even start is because it wasn't UCI legal!
> 
> Anyways This made me laugh
> 
> ...


someone said that the guys on the team call him Forrest. That was what the running man was all about.


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## vismitananda (Jan 16, 2011)

Dan Gerous said:


> Actually, it didn't make it to the start... He asked the mechanics to put one as a joke... and they did put one (wondering why they have bells in their trucks) and then it made for some good fun and marketing. But it was taken off before the start.


It would be so funny to have the bell till the end of the stage. 

Was it really against the UCI rules?


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## EuroSVT (Sep 15, 2011)

Think we all got that the bell was a joke, well maybe Tyler didn't. Cannondale realeased a behind the scenes tour clip today, showing a fan / contest winner putting it on the the bike.


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## saddle tramp (Feb 22, 2006)

I think it was Tour of Cali where Peter the Great did the scanner victory salute? That was a favorite. Does anyone know specific stage?


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## EuroSVT (Sep 15, 2011)

saddle tramp said:


> I think it was Tour of Cali where Peter the Great did the scanner victory salute? That was a favorite. Does anyone know specific stage?


I can't remember, but please do post a link if you run across it


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