A signed-by-Peter-Sagan Tour of California leader's jersey from the 2015 race available in eBay(Image credit: thescoobs / eBay)
Sagan's scribble makes this signed jersey all the more valuable(Image credit: thescoobs / eBay)
Tinkoff-Saxo’s Peter Sagan – in the leader's yellow-and-blue jersey on stage 7 – races to what would eventually be the overall title at the 2015 Tour of California(Image credit: Getty Images Sport)
Bora-Hansgrohe's Peter Sagan is currently racing at the 2020 Tour de France, locked in battle with Deceuninck-QuickStep's Sam Bennett in a bid to win an eighth green jersey. But five short years ago, Sagan was locking horns with Julian Alaphilippe of what was then the Etixx-QuickStep team for the Tour of California's yellow leader's jersey. And here, on eBay, is one of those jerseys, signed by Sagan, and framed and ready for your wall.
Riding then for the Tinkoff-Saxo squad, Sagan took the race lead for the first time at the 2015 Tour of California as a result of winning the 10.6km individual time trial on stage 6, beating LottoNL-Jumbo's Jos van Emden and an up-and-coming Alaphilippe. The Slovakian then lost the yellow jersey to the Frenchman the next day, on the penultimate stage to Mount Baldy, despite a valiant effort on the tough summit finish from Sagan to come home sixth.
It meant that Alaphilippe went into the final stage around Los Angeles with a two-second lead over Sagan, who proceeded to take a second back on the Frenchman in the intermediate sprint, but then needed to finish in the top three on the stage in order to be able to overhaul Alaphilippe for the overall win – which he did, just, taking the four seconds on offer for third place, while Alaphilippe's Etixx-QuickStep teammate Mark Cavendish won the stage ahead of Drapac's Wouter Wippert.
Tinkoff-Saxo’s Peter Sagan – in the leader's yellow-and-blue jersey on stage 7 – races to what would eventually be the overall title at the 2015 Tour of California (Image credit: Getty Images Sport)
That 2015 Tour of California remains the last stage race that Sagan has won – which is no great surprise, given that he's more of a Classics specialist who's more than happy to mix it with the world's best sprinters when he so desires. However, he can climb better than any out-and-out sprinter, which is why he's won seven Tour de France green jerseys, often by virtue of staying at the front on hillier days to collect points at the intermediate sprints.
That Tour of California is in fact one of three stage races that he's finished victorious at, having also won both the Tour de Pologne and the Giro di Sardegna back in 2011.
The California-based seller of the jersey is looking for US$400 (£310), which isn't so bad when you consider that it's both signed by Sagan and framed. They've apparently got a longer story, too, as to how Sagan came to sign it at the Rose Bowl stadium in Pasadena, on the outskirts of Los Angeles.
The Tour of California is, of course, currently on hiatus, although many – riders such as Sagan, Alaphilippe and Cavendish included – would be very pleased to see the race's return.
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