Back to Boulogne! The debut Tour of Peter Sagan. 1/26
Jul 5, 2025 · 4:28 PM UTC
At the start of the 2012 Tour de France, a 22-year old Slovakian cyclist was the talk of the town. The Tour commenced with a prologue through the streets of Liege, Belgium.
Normally, Fabian Cancellara (RadioShack) would be heavily favored to take the yellow jersey. 2/26
Since 2004, the Swiss rider only lost the opening TT of the Tour once. He comfortably won in 2007, 2009 and 2010, but his position of best specialist was challenged in 2012. After breaking his collarbone in Flanders, Cancellara suffered a surprise defeat in the Tour de Suisse. 3/
In the streets of Lugano, Peter Sagan (Liquigas) was 4 seconds quicker than the 31 year old Swiss in the prologue.
As a Junior, Sagan already stood out as an insanely talented multidisciplinary rider. On the road, he performed well as a 1st year in several nations cups. 4/26
At the world championships in Aguascalientes, Mexico, he finished fourth. As a second year, Sagan finished second in the prestigious Course de la Paix. The course of the World Championships in Cape Town, South Africa, was too hard for him. He finished 18th. 5/26
Where sagan however really stood out was on the off-road disciplines. He won the cyclocross race in Diegem, and finished second at the world championships in Treviso. On the Mountainbike, he became World and European champion. 6/26
While Sagan preferred an off-road career, his management steered him to the road, convinced he had great potential. He underwent tests with Quick-Step, but they rejected him. Angrily, Sagan vowed to never race on the road again, but he ended up signing with Dukla Trenčín. 7/26
Combining disciplines, Sagan performed well in several east-European road races. In November, he was invited to test with Italian WT team Liquigas. The team was stunned by the results of Sagan's tests. They said they had never seen such a young rider push out such numbers. 8/26
Despite the fact that Sagan didn't speak English or Italian, they offered him a two year contract.
Being offered a pro-contract after just one year as U23 was still unusual at the time, but what was even more unusual was that he required no time to adjust to the World Tour. 9/26
The Slovak immediately became the revelation of the spring. After a 5th place in the prologue, Sagan went on to win 2 hilly stages in Paris-Nice, beating names like Joaquim Rodríguez. Later that season he won another WT stage in Romandie, and came 2nd in the GP Montréal. 10/26
Sagan stormed the WT ranks like Jackson Storm. In 2011 he won 2 stages in the Tour de Suisse, 2 stages + the overall in the Tour of Poland, & three stages at his Grand Tour debut in the Vuelta.
There was no consensus about what type of rider Sagan would become. 11/26
It was clear he was an extremely punchy sprinter, capable of winning some mass sprints. However, some thought he could become a GC rider. He was compared to Eddy Merckx, but to that Sagan said: I don't want to be a second Eddy Merckx, I want to be the first Peter Sagan. 12/26
Sagan also had no intention to target GCs, his strength wasn't in long climbs. He focused on becoming a versatile sprinter, and attempted the spring classics for the first time in 2012. He finished 2nd in Gent-Wevelgem, 5th in the Tour of Flanders and 3rd in Amstel Gold. 13/26
After winning 5 stages in the Tour of California, the prologue & 3 further stages in the Tour de Suisse, Sagan came into his Tour debut as a hot shot, potentially capable of winning a hat full of stages.
Sagan was the challenger of Cancellara, but delivered a bad prologue. 14/26
The straightforward nature of the course already didn't suit Sagan, but when he nearly crashed on a roundabout, all hope of a yellow jersey was gone. When Cancellara came onto the course, it became clear that he still very much was the king of prologues. 15/2
He completed the 6km course 7s faster than Bradley Wiggins (Sky) and Sylvain Chavanel (QuickStep). It marked his 8th Tour de France stage win.
The 1st regular stage offered Sagan an opportunity to make up. The stage to Seraing was perfect, finishing on a 3.5km, 4.7% climb. 16/26
The stage came down to a sprint up the climb. After GreenEdge set the pace, Chavanel attacked with 2k to go. The Frenchman attempted to take the yellow jersey, but got caught with 1.5k to go. At that moment, Cancellara attacked, eager to win a stage in the yellow jersey. 17/26
Sagan jumped to the wheel of the maillot jaune, but refused to take a turn despite several requests. Cancellara paced until the line, but stood no chance against Sagan who easily jumped from his wheel to take the win. He celebrated with a muscle-man/chicken dance. 18/26
While Cancellara publicly didn't say much, he was frustraded with the showmanship displayed by Sagan. A year later, he would say his way of celebrating showed a lack of respect for his opponents, and it was unsportsmanlike to not take any turns on the climb. 19/2
After a mass sprint, the third stage finished in Boulogne sur Mer. The finish was drawn on a 700m 7.4% section in the coastal fishing town. A group of some 90 riders started the final km together. This finish was too explosive for Cancellara, but he was well positioned. 20/26
BMC and GreenEdge launched early on the climb, but despite their high pace, Kris Boeckmans (Vacansolei) attacked. The Belgian's attack was punchy, but he stalled in the final corner with 140m to go. Sagan came around the outside, with Boasson Hagen following him. 21/26
However, Boeckmans got confused and abruptly steered into the car deviation. Sagan was at that point already past him, but Hagen got held up. Sagan easily won the stage, this time celebrating with a Forrest Gump dance. 22/26
Not all riders appreciated Sagan's extravagant celebrations. After the stage, Robbie Hunter took to this platform and wrote: "Great win by Sagan again he, is class! But can't say I enjoy his victory salutes in the face of his competitors!" 23/26
Sagan won his third and final stage in stage 6, which he celebrated with a hulk celebration. He was the youngest rider since Lance Armstrong (1991) to win a stage, and the youngest since René Vietto (1934) to win 3. He became a fan favorite with his showmanship. 24/26
For Sagan, the 2012 Tour was just the start. He would become one of the best riders of his generation, winning 12 Tour stages, 7 green jerseys, 3 world titles, Paris-Roubaix and the Tour of Flanders. He retired in 2023. 25/26
This story is one of many examples which support the tweet below. Generational divide is a real thing in the peloton. Riders always complain about the younger generation. Cancellara about Sagan, Anquetil about Merckx, and Hinault about LeMond. 26/26
