Peter Sagan and Van Aert may never be friends: “Wott is a great driver, but on a personal level he disappoints me” | Cycling

The end of the year is approaching and it’s time to look forward and look back. Peter Sagan did it today in Italy’s La Gazzetta dello Sport. The triple world champion has won “only” two races this season with the national road championship in Slovakia and a stage in the Tour de Suisse. He remains the only active rider to have been able to win a WorldTour-level race for ten consecutive years.

He does not deny that Sagan did not have his best year. When asked if he would ever return to his best form, he answered somewhat annoyed. “I don’t like these kinds of questions. I’m doing my best to be competitive at the highest level. If I stop believing in it, I won’t do it anymore. It’s true that I’ve had coronavirus three times, but I don’t want to make an excuse for that.”

One of his corona injuries came just before the tour, which hasn’t really worked for Sagan for three years now. Fourth places in Carcassonne and Sonderborg were his best results, although there may have been more in Denmark. At the Sonderborg race – won by Dylan Groenewegen – the yellow jersey Van Aert (2nd) slammed the door professionally. Sagan pointed a finger at our compatriot.

The two have a history. Things also went wrong once in the 2020 Tour, when the opposite happened. Sagan pinned Van Aert and was brought back into the score of the day. Then Van Aert responded with his middle finger. “I was completely on edge. I said ‘boy what are you doing now?’ Then he started scolding me and I scolded him too. Then he went.”

After many years and months, the problems are still not resolved. “Van Aert is a great driver and a champion, but he insulted me at the Tour,” Sagan told La Gazzetta dello Sport today when asked about his relationship with Van Aert. “He hasn’t apologized yet. He disappoints me on a personal level. I’m waiting for him to approach me, I won’t make the first move myself. He knows why.”

“It’s hard to talk about a band, because we hardly communicate with each other,” Van Aert said after the conscious fourth stage in this year’s Tour. “You talk to some riders in the peloton more than others. I can only say that I have a lot of respect for Peter. He’s an incredibly strong rider. As a little kid, I really enjoyed his performances.”