Six-time winner of the Tour de France classification by points, three-time world champion, the Slovak Peter Sagan will strive for a seventh green jersey.
He wants to do better than the German Erik Zabel with whom he holds the record for this category.
Sagan appeared very casual at his team’s press conference in Brussels on Friday. The Slovak appreciates the Baloise Belgium Tour. "I like racing in Belgium, especially the classics, and I appreciate coming back here," Sagan said.
"Saturday’s first stage will take place on some of Flanders’ roads, the Muur Kapelmuur, the Bosberg, difficulties of the Ronde van Vlaanderen. But the race will be very different from the Ronde because the hard parts are far from the finish and many racers will want to win in Brussels. I will do my best on Saturday and on the following days…scoring points for the green jersey is my big goal. That is why I am in the Tour de France this year."
Sagan won the green jersey of the Tour de France every year between 2012 and 2016 and in 2018.
If successful in his classification by points, it is imperative that Sagan goes right to the finish in Paris, to validate his green jersey. He will have to cross the Pyrenees and Alps that will spice the third and final week of the Tour de France 2019. "I think I have prepared well for the Tour and the mountains,” the Slovak said. "I raced in the Tour of California and in the Tour of Switzerland and I took altitude training."
The Brussels Times
