Enter the Tourminator

A two-time Tour de France green jersey winner, and a man capable of victory on almost any terrain you care to mention, it was hardly surprising that Cannondale Pro Cycling’s Slovak sensation, Peter Sagan, would put his rivals to the sword at some point during the Tour of Oman, having won two stages of last year’s race.

The quality of the riders who toiled in his wake says much about the quality of Sagan’s performance: Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) and Rigoberto Uran (Omega Pharma-Quickstep) were among those who trailed in his immediate wake while defending champion, Team Sky’s Chris Froome, was still further back.

The manner of Sagan’s victory was significant, and pure Peter. Sagan escaped with Nibali and Uran after nullifying an attack from no less a talent than the defending champion, Froome. The trio’s effort in building their advantage looked set to end when they found themselves on the wrong side of the road for the racing line, but Sagan, characteristically, resolved matters with a bunny hop onto the pavement, while Nibali and Uran took the long way around a traffic island. When it became apparent that matters would be resolved by a sprint between Sagan and Uran, odds on a Colombian victory would likely have stretched to near-impossible length.

Sagan’s statement is emphatic. Mere hills will not stop him, nor will those who hold a place among the peloton’s climbing elite and those regarded as its best bike handlers. Only serious and prolonged ascents can undo Sagan, and he’s unlikely to encounter many of those between now and July. Milan-San Remo, the cobbled Classics, Ardennes Week – all are possible targets for Peter the Great. Events in Oman offered his rivals an early glimpse of the challenge they must overcome to defeat him.