World Champion ties the knot with longtime girlfriend in local ceremony
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UCI World Champion Peter Sagan and his wife Katarina Smolkova are seen after their wedding in the town of Dolny Kubin in North Slovakia on November 11, 2015.(Image credit: Stringer/AFP/Getty Images)
UCI World Champion Peter Sagan and his wife Katarina Smolkova are seen after their wedding in the town of Dolny Kubin in North Slovakia on November 11, 2015.(Image credit: Stringer/AFP/Getty Images)
UCI World Champion Peter Sagan and his wife Katarina Smolkova are seen after their wedding in the town of Dolny Kubin in North Slovakia on November 11, 2015.(Image credit: Stringer/AFP/Getty Images)
UCI World Champion Peter Sagan and his wife Katarina Smolkova are seen after their wedding in the town of Dolny Kubin in North Slovakia on November 11, 2015.(Image credit: Stringer/AFP/Getty Images)
Peter Sagan gives his girlfriend Katarina Smolkova a ride on his bike following the last day of the 2015 Tour de France.(Image credit: Courtesy of Polartec-Kometa)
Peter Sagan and his girlfriend Katarina Smolkova leave their hotel for the team's party following the 2015 Tour de France
Peter Sagan and his girlfriend Katarina Smolkova leave their hotel for the team's party following the 2015 Tour de France
The waning days of 2015 have been pretty good to Peter Sagan. The 25-year-old Slovakian of Tinkoff-Saxo won the World Championship road race in September and was married to longtime girlfriend Katarina Smolkova today in his home country.
The ceremony took place at noon local time in the Roman Catholic church in Dolny Kubin in northern Slovakia, according to Slovakian website Aktualne.sk. Sagan and Smolkova then moved on to their reception at a luxury hotel in Pleso.
Before the ceremony could get started, Sagan wielded a chainsaw to cut through a traditional "gate" that blocked his path to Smolkova's house. The couple arrived at the church with Smolkova dressed in a traditional white gown and Peter Sagan decked out in an ornately decorated traditional jacket, boots and stylish fur coat.
The guest list for the wedding was noticeably absent of celebrities, with friends and family of the bride and groom making up most of those in attendance. Outside the church, a large crowd of fans and well-wishers gathered to see the couple off to their reception, which included guests from throughout Europe. Security was tight as the Sagans drove away.
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