That, at least, is the headline in today's Italian sports newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport . According to the accompanying article, Peter Sagan has already reached an agreement with Oleg Tinkoff, owner of the Tinkoff-Saxo racing team. The Slovakian, who is rumored to be demanding a salary of four million euros, has previously been linked to Team Astana and the project of Formula 1 driver Fernando Alonso. Sagan's contract with Team Cannondale expires at the end of the year.
But therein lies the significance of the news. If one were to indulge in speculation, there are strong indications that Team Tinkoff-Saxo will be riding on American bikes next year. Their current supplier, Specialized, with whom Alberto Contador has a personal contract, would then have to be compensated. According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, however, this shouldn't pose 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.