Peter Sagan and Mark Cavendish set to race Tour de Hongrie

Peter Sagan is on course to make his 2024 road debut at the Tour de Hongrie next month (May 8-12) with the former road world champion on a provisional start list that also includes Mark Cavendish (Astana Qazaqstan), Dylan Groenewegen (Jayco AlUla) and Elia Viviani (Ineos Grenadiers).

Sagan hasn’t raced on the road since stepping back from WorldTour cycling in 2023 but he is listed as part of the Continental team Pierre Baguette Cycling. Sagan was forced to pause his current mountain bike season and his build up to the Olympic Games in Paris earlier this year after he required double heart surgery.

The 34-year-old was diagnosed with an anomalous tachycardia, a cardiac arrhythmia in February and underwent an ablation procedure at the time.

However, after initially returning to training, he was forced to stop and undergo a second operation the week of March 18. He has been back in training for the last few weeks and heads to the Tour of Hongrie to compete with several former road rivals, although the pressure is off.

“If nothing strange happens then it’s the plan for Peter to do Hongrie,” the rider’s spokesperson told GCN.

“The plan is to train a little bit. He’s not going there for the win or the Olympics, he’s going there for the team. At this moment it’s more important for the training and we’ll see how his body will react. There are no specific goals other than for him to be healthy and happy,” they added.

Cavendish is using the five-day stage race to hone his form ahead of the Tour de France. The veteran sprinter is aiming to win a record-setting 35th Tour de France stage this July and is currently competing at the Tour of Türkiye. 

Cavendish and Sagan had one of the most competitive sprint rivalries during the peaks of their careers. They battled for stage wins on a regular basis at the Tour de France with Sagan winning 12 stages and a record seven Green jerseys. They last competed against each other in the 2023 Tour de France.