Friday 8 August 2014 08:37, UK
Tour de France green jersey winner Peter Sagan has signed a three-year deal with the Tinkoff-Saxo team.
The Slovak star was looking for a new challenge with the Cannondale team set to fold at the end of the season - they are expected to link up with the Garmin-Sharp outfit.
Sagan had plenty of suitors, but he has opted for the Danish team and manager Bjarne Riis is delighted with their new acquisition.
“We are happy and proud to present and welcome Peter Sagan on the team in 2015 on a long-term three-year contract," Riis said in a team statement.
"Peter is without doubt one of the biggest talents in cycling and one of the biggest names already.
"He has a winning mentality, he’s visible and active in the finales and he, without doubt, has the ability to bring home victories.
“It will be exciting to work with Peter also for me personally. He has a huge talent and he’s already very strong but I believe he has even more potential than what we’ve seen so far.
"He still has a lot to learn about the tactical aspects of cycling to fully optimize his power but I believe that we are fully able to help him improve even more. Next year, we’ll have a very strong team to support him and to aim for big wins throughout the season.”
Sagan has an impressive palmares, with stage victories this season at the Tirreno-Adriatico, Tour of California, Tour of Oman, Tour de Suisse and E3 Harelbeke.
But his biggest achievement was completing a hat-trick of green jersey successes in the Tour de France last month, albeit without managing to win a stage.
