Abu Dhabi: Newly-crowned world champion Peter Sagan clearly has a rebellious streak in him; the Slovak rarely cares what the world thinks about him and can be very unpredictable.
The Sunday night Gala Dinner of UCI (Union Cycliste Internationale) was more a formal gathering with a suit for dress code but he clearly didn’t bother and landed up at the Du Arena more as a rock star – red T-shirt, black denim jeans, leather jacket and high boots.
He made a ramp walk to collect the framed rainbow jersey from the UCI President Brian Cookson, then went on to break the glass to get his hands on the jersey and was later seen sporting it and posing for the shutter buffs. “I’m very proud of the rainbow jersey and I hope I can be a good world champion. This jersey is maybe a bit heavy but I will try to do my best,” said the 25-year-old, who also took the opportunity to wish Quick-Step’s Tom Boonen a speedy recovery from the crash in the second stage.
“I wish Tom Boonen a rapid recovery after his nasty crash during stage 2. Hope he gets well soon in the company of his family back home,” said Sagan.
Grand Tour winners Alberto Contador and Chris Froome were also present to collect their awards. “I think it’s great that at the end of the season, we come together and celebrate and be proud of the achievements we’ve had this year,” said Froome, adding, “The Tour has got to be the highlight for me. The build-up, the hype, the pressure, everything that goes into being ready for the Tour.”
Also seen taking the award was Nairo Quintana, third placed in the final WorldTour ranking. Quintana’s team Movistar, once again, bagged the award for topping the WorldTour team ranking for another year. Bradley Wiggins and Molly Shaffer Van Houweling were awarded special prizes for setting new men’s and women’s Hour Record, respectively.
Wiggins, who is busy with his training ahead of the European track championships in Switzerland, thanked the organisers for the award in a video chat. Orica-GreenEdge rider Esteban Chaves, who won the inaugural Abu Dhabi Tour was also felicitated for his achievement.
The Abu Dhabi Tour also got a thumbs up for putting up a decent show in the inaugural season. The only blip probably was the extreme heat; something that the organisers will be looking to do something about in the next season. With plenty of land mass to explore, Abu Dhabi has plenty of options to select different stages in the coming years. The twilight race at the spectacular Yas Marina Circuit certainly adds a new dimension and is certain to stay.
The impressive show by the local team Sky Dubai – especially the performances from Tunisian Rafa Chtioui and Franciso Mancebo of Spain will do a lot of good to sport here in the UAE. The national team riders preparing for the GCC and Arab Championship would have also gained enormous experience from rubbing shoulders with the world’s best.
