World Champion Peter Sagan has arrived in Adelaide ahead of his only Australian race for 2017, the Santos Tour Down Under.
Sagan will be riding for his new team BORA – hansgrohe in the team’s WorldTour debut.
“I want to train well and for the start of season (the race) is very important. This race is very high standard, it is WorldTour, and I just want to do my best with the team and we will see what we can do,” said Sagan.
“I’m very glad to come back because it’s good weather and I’ve been here, in 2010 the last time, for this race and it was I think a very good start to the season.”
Race director Mike Turtur said it was exciting to see Sagan back in South Australia, and with formidable professional experience and many accolades under his belt, he expects the Slovakian will be a fierce competitor.
“It’s great for the race, great for Australian cycling to have Peter here in the rainbow jersey, any organization in the world is honoured to have the rainbow jersey,” Turtur said.
“But I think with Peter you get the complete package because people love the way that he races, he’s very aggressive, the way he interacts with the media and spectators is fantastic for the sport.
“We’re just honoured to have him here in the rainbow jersey with his new team.
“(Also) Peter mentioned that other teams are sending very strong line-ups so the quality here in 2017 will be exceptional, led by the rainbow jersey and World Champion Peter Sagan.”
The Santos Tour Down Under will kick off with team presentations on Saturday 14 January, 2017.
