At least that's what the headline in the Italian sports magazine says today La Gazzetta dello Sport. According to the accompanying article, Peter Sagan has already reached an agreement with Oleg Tinkoff, the owner of the Tinkoff-Saxo racing team. So far, the Slovak, who is said to have a salary of four million euros, has been associated with Team Astana and the project of Formula 1 driver Fernando Alonso. Sagan's contract with Team Cannondale ends at the end of the year.
But therein lies the explosiveness of the message. If you want to indulge in speculation, then there are many indications that the Tinkoff-Saxo team will be on wheels of the Americans next year. The previous outfitter Specialized, with whom Alberto Contador has a personal contract, would then have to be compensated. Loud La Gazzetta dello Sport however, this should not be a problem.
The newspaper speculates that, in addition to Tinkoff, Sagan's manager Giovanni Lombardi and his former team boss Bjarne Riis are pulling the strings behind the deal. This would continue a story that began in winter. At the time, Tinkoff was already associated with Cannondale, but then decided against joining the team.
A move from Cannondale to Tinkoff-Saxo would free up the WorldTour license the Americans currently hold. It's quite possible that Roberto Amadio, operator of the racing team, Alonso and the outfitter Sojasun will agree on taking it over. At the moment only Moreno Moser, Elia Viviani, Alan Marangoni, Kristijan Koren, Davide Villella, Davide Formolo, Alberto Bettiol and Matej Mohoric have a contract with Amadio for 2015. The development therefore remains exciting. Officially, changes and team changes may only be announced from August.