Cannondale’s Slovakian showman has been in stunning form as ever during 2013, and more often than not on the biggest stages too. Stage wins at the Tirenno-Adriatico were followed by second at Milan-San Remo and the Tour of Flanders as Sagan kicked off his season in style. He also picked up stage wins at the Tours of Oman and California before continuing his impressive WorldTour form by winning two stages and topping the points classification at the Tour de Suisse.

The Slovakian national champion then took his fine form into the Tour de France, leading the bunch over the line in stage two – only for Jan Bakelants to have snatched victory one second up the road. Sagan, despite not possessing the same sprinting ability as the likes of Cavendish, Greipel and Kittel, also finished second in stages three and six, while coming third in stage five. By the time he finally earned victory in stage seven his consistency was such that his lead in the green jersey was already effectively unsurpassable. Sagan took another four top-five finishes before ending his year with GP de Montreal success to rank fourth in the WorldTour rankings.