Peter Sagan bunny-hops over Fabian Cancellara’s bike after the Swiss hits the cobbles in Paris-Roubaix
Eddie Mercxx....
Sagan drew a significant amount of attention when he appeared at the Slovak Cup with a bicycle borrowed from his sister. Sagan had mistakenly sold his own and had not received a spare from the Velosprint sponsor in time. He won the race despite riding a supermarket bike with poor brakes and limited gearing.
Sagan's first professional cycling opportunity came along when he was hired by the Dukla Trenčín-Merida team, a Slovak outfit in the Continental (third) division. In 2008, he won the Mountain Bike Junior World Championship in Val di Sole. That same year he also finished second in the Cyclocross Junior World Championships in Treviso and the Junior Paris–Roubaix.[7] Sagan joined a Pro Tour team Quick-Step for road testing but failed to secure a contract.
His frustration was so deep that he decided to quit road cycling, however pressed by his family he gave it a try with Liquigas–Doimo and succeeded. Liquigas' Zanatta offered Sagan a two-year contract (2010–2011) with an option to ride mountain bikes for Cannondale. In April 2010 the contract was extended to 2012. Liquigas doctors and managers were stunned by results of Sagan's medical tests, saying that they had never seen a 19-year-old rider as physically strong and capable. During the training camp Sagan destroyed more mountain bikes than any other rider due to his ability to put a bike through its paces. This earned him the nickname "Terminator"