Slovakian road World Champion Peter Sagan has revealed his modest medal expectations for this weekend’s Olympic Cross-Country race in Rio.
The road-racer turned mountain biker insists that his chances are slim, but that he may be able to cause an upset.
“I have not raced mountain bike in seven years.” said Sagan in a press conference.
“Technically, I am not bad. I am not here to lose.
“Can I win? If I lose I am not disappointed. If I win then it’s so good.”
Sagan does have Olympic experience, albeit none-off-road. He finished 34th in the London 2012 road race, although he admitted he would have chosen Cross-Country if the opportunity was there.
“I raced on the road in London and I already wanted to race mountain there, but it was not possible,” he said.
“It’s a big dream for me. I have already won some big things on the road (this year’s World Championship being one of them). What can I do now? The Olympic Games. We will see. Maybe I have another Olympic road race in the future.”
The 26-year-old will face the likes of five time world champion Nino Schurter, Julien Absalon and London 2012 gold medalist Jaroslav Kulhavy. But he remained positive about the opportunity ahead of him.
“I did my my best in training and I will do my best on Sunday,” said Sagan
“No one knows what the hell to expect. Maybe it is more fun that way.”
You can watch the press conference in full here.
