The theory that Peter Sagan could be a future colossus of the sport received further reinforcement yesterday when the Slovakian followed up on his fourth place in Milan Sanremo and the Ronde Van Vlaanderen with third in the Amstel Gold Race.
The results are clearly not the same as winning but, considering he’s still just 22 years of age, there’s a huge room for improvement in the years to come. The Liguiqas Cannondale rider has already made a lot of progress in the Classics when compared to last season, and it seems a matter of time before he’s winning them.
Speaking after yesterday’s race, though, he made it clear that he could have triumphed had things been timed a bit better.
"I race to win and I am sorry to miss out on success by a few metres,” he said. “On the other hand, a podium in the Amstel Gold Race is a pretty good result. The finale was also very difficult to interpret. There were so many riders, and you had to watch out for several opponents.
“At the beginning of the climb [the Cauberg – ed.] I was locked in on the barricades, then I saw Gilbert [move] and I did not think twice. With hindsight I should have had patience, but after 250 km, lucidity of thought is like that [open to mistakes –ed.].”
Coming into the final kilometre and that tough drag up to the finish line, Spanish rider Oscar Freire (Katusha) was clear and had an advantage of over ten seconds. Niki Terpstra (Omega Pharma Quick Step) was also away but was closed down very soon after the start of the Cauberg.
Gilbert then made his surge, reducing the gap to the lone leader. Sagan marked him, then surged and was the first rider to pass Freire, getting past the Katusha rider with 90 metres to go.
The problem was that Enrico Gasparotto (Astana) and Jelle Vanendert (Lotto Belisol) were locked on his wheel and, with the Slovakian fading inside the final 50 metres, were both able to come around him just before the line.
He was very disappointed after the finish line but, upon reflection, could take away some real positives from the result.
“The whole experience is good for the future,” he said. “Today I realized that this is a Classic that I can win. When that is, of course, remains to be seen. "