World champion says clean riders can bring sponsors back
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Peter Sagan wore plain clothes(Image credit: Bora-hansgrohe)
Peter Sagan (Tinkoff) takes the WorldTour win in Old Quebec City.(Image credit: Jonathan Devich/epicimages.us)
Ralph Denk with two of his new riders Peter Sagan and Pascal Ackermann(Image credit: Bora-hansgrohe)
Peter Sagan and Fabian Cancellara battle it out at Gent-Wevelgem(Image credit: Jonathan Devich/epicimages.us)
Peter Sagan leads the way on his charity ride(Image credit: Brian Hodes / VeloImages)
Peter Sagan shared his optimism about the future of cycling and also his confidence in the improvement of anti-doping measures in an interview with Sportschau on Wednesday at the Bora-hansgrohe team training camp in Spain.
The reigning road world champion addressed questions about the current state of cycling, pointing out how difficult doping would be given the rigorous measures now in place to catch cheaters. He compared the contemporary anti-doping system to being in jail, with no opportunities to break the rules without getting caught.
"What happened happened, and now we are a new generation," he said. "If we have to talk serious, it's like we're in jail, because we have – always, riding in the position that we are – doping controls [that] can come everywhere. It's just impossible to think about that. I think now cycling is very clean."
The improved state of affairs has afforded younger riders better opportunities, Sagan added.
"It's much better, because a lot of young riders have more possibilities. I was very lucky," he said, "I came into an already clean cycling. From the start of my career I started winning and I think that is very nice. More young cyclists are winning. It's telling you that it's not possible anymore, that kind of thing in cycling."
Sagan pointed to the same changes as a driving force behind improving the economic situation of pro cycling, striking a positive tone looking toward the future of teams and sponsorships.
"We can make a revolution in cycling," he said. "There was a period in cycling were there was [either] national money in cycling, or cycling [bike manufacturer] sponsors. All the brands of the bike were sponsors of the team, or Astana was national money, Katusha was national money.
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"And then Tinkoff started to be the first [in a new wave], IAM was another team, and then Bora-hansgrohe demonstrates: the old story is over. We can make a revolution in cycling because all the big sponsors, the companies that have money, they want to be in cycling because it's very good to promo the brand and the company."
