Slovak rider Peter Sagan has strongly denied comments earlier attributed to him by the Twitter account PeterSaganNews, saying that they are inaccurate and that he doesn’t know who is claiming to be him online.
The 20 year old clarified things via a team statement, rejecting any suggestion of a disagreement between him and the squad’s doctors over treatment for his stomach issues.
“I am in the middle of a case of identity theft,” he said. “The profile ‘PeterSaganNews’ is not mine and is not managed by any person in my confidence. I should like to state clearly and unequivocally that there is no problem between myself and the team's medical team. The confidence I have in Dr. Roberto Corsetti, in Dr. Emilio Magni and in dottor Antonio Angelucci is very strong.”
The Twitter account, which jumps between talking about Sagan in the first and third person, earlier painted a different picture.
“Sagan in dispute with Liquigas doctors: 'They think they have all the wisdom in the world. They try to change my eating habits by prescribing food my body does not respond well to…’ Sagan is still on antibiotics recovering from stomach probs that plagued the 2nd half of his season.”
His clarification removes any doubt: it’s not him, and he wants that account closed. “What was reported on Twitter is entirely false: I never made statements about it and the words which emerged are just the result of an invention of an unknown person,” he stated. “I feel good, I have recovered energy after a busy season and now I'm ready to start again.”
The Liquigas rider is one of the most talented young competitors in the sport. He was world and junior mountainbike champion in 2008 and then decided to give road racing a full in this season. That paid off right away, resulting as it did in two stage wins and the points classification in Paris-Nice.
He was also first on a stage (and 13th overall) in the Tour de Romandie, then picked up two stages, the points and best young rider classification in the Tour of California. It was a staggering pro debut, and one which turned heads. If Sagan can keep up his progression, he could be one of the most talented riders to emerge in decades.