My World

There is no doubt Peter Sagan is an amazing athlete physically as well as mentally and the book's two covers graphically display the spirit that infuse all of us who have a passion for what we do whether it is cycling or anything else. The jacket photo is as emotionally stimulating as the book cover photo itself is quizzically thoughtful. And the mantra on the back cover prepares the reader for Sagan's refreshing philosophy in a world of brutally hard men and women. Sagan, with John Deering, creates a read that captivates with race descriptions from within the peloton and life's lessons as taught by a positive, critical thinker. My World focuses almost exclusively on the period of Sagan's three years in the Rainbow Jersey of his World Championship tenure. The reader learns of his passionate roots and of the sacrifices of his parents, friends, and colleagues who ultimately lead to his "Team Peter" concept. The reader is treated to positive affirmations and respectful evaluations of all who have the good fortune to share even the shortest amount of time with him. The pro cycling arena is filled with super heroes but I dare say there are not many as self-deprecating as Sagan as evidenced after a World Championship win: "I just felt a bit uncomfortable that folk were lining up to kiss my feet while there was more important stuff going on in the world." John Deering served Peter Sagan well by capturing the inner spirit of a passionate observer of life. The book covers aspects of the pro cycling world that can only be revealed by one who has demonstrated the utmost respect for others and realizes his service to his fans. Sagan, My world is a refreshingly light look through a narrow window of a complicated sport and into the life of a truly great athlete.

This is pretty much what you would expect it to be, from Peter Sagan. It’s light, breezy, upbeat, and entertaining. It’s Sagan’s public personality all the way through. Not that that’s bad. Sagan is a breath of fresh air in cycling — besides being incredibly talented, skilled, and accomplished, he doesn’t take himself too seriously. He knows he’s in the entertainment business, so he is there for the fans. He even has “Why so serious?” tattooed on himself, along with a Joker-like image of himself. If you like Peter Sagan, you’ll like the book — it will reinforce that perception of him as just a fun-loving guy who happens to be a great bike racer. It’s written as if spoken — it has the feeling of something where Sagan just sat down and started talking about things. There’s nothing in the book about how it was written, what help Sagan got with the writing, etc. (realistically he had to have had considerable help, given that he is Slovakian and it is written in English, in an easy-to-read, smooth-flowing style). The best parts of the book, I think, are Sagan’s accounts of particular races won and lost. He gives us his perspective, how he felt, how the race unfolded, who was pushing hard, who wasn’t on his best day, what happened in the sprint. You don’t usually get this in media interviews. The final Epilogue recounting last year’s Paris-Roubaix may be the best, including his attempt to straighten his crooked stem and handlebar by smacking his front wheel repeatedly and at speed into an unsuspecting competitor's rear wheel. And it’s all presented through Sagan’s happy-go-lucky personality. Another theme that stands out is the importance of “Team Peter.” Sagan trusts and relies on his own people, a “team within a team” that operates within whichever pro team he’s on. That team includes Peter’s brother, Juraj, a trusted teammate and an accomplished cyclist in his own right. All of that said, you aren’t going to get much controversy here. The lengthiest treatment of a controversial subject is Sagan’s view on his own disqualification in the 2017 Tour de France. Sagan believes his disqualification was a mistake, most likely based on a misinterpretation of the video. The video appears to show Sagan elbowing Mark Cavendish as Cavendish attempts to come by him on the inside during the stage’s final sprint. Sagan’s view is that the two collided and that Sagan’s arm and elbow were forced up by the collision. Hard to tell, but it’s good to have Sagan’s full account. He speaks only briefly about doping in cycling. Of course, he expresses disappointment in those who dope and says that they deserve the punishment they get. Sagan himself has never, certainly to my knowledge, been rumored to have doped, so I don’t suppose we should be looking to him for a whole lot on the subject. One thing he doesn’t talk about at all is the incident at the 2013 Tour of Flanders in which Sagan pinched, or at least appeared to pinch, one of the podium girls (Maja Leye). That was early in Sagan’s career, and it could have put a bad dent in his popular public persona. His apology, both publicly and to Maja Leye, and subsequent conduct got him back on track. I would have liked to hear what he thinks about the incident now, and for that matter, what he thinks about the podium girl tradition itself (now being eliminated in many if not most pro races). All in all, though, it’s entertaining, upbeat, and breezy. It’s kind of a throw-back, to a time when we read about sports heroes just as sports heroes. You can criticize Sagan for not digging deeper or for not taking on more controversial topics, but I think that’s probably just not Peter Sagan.

Is you like bicycles, watching the Tour de France and especially if you like Peter Sagan this is the book for you. Admittedly I love all the above and especially a Sagan sprint for the win. Repeatedly Peter mentions that professional cyclists are entertainers. 'My World' does not disappoint. But not only is it entertaining to me it was very informative. The insider's view from the riders perspective allows the reader to have a better understanding for the tactics, pacing and mindset of the men that ride not only because they love it but for their livelyhood. "Why so serious?" is one of Peter's catch phrases and even with the ego necessary to excel at the highest levels we see a Sagan who doesn't take himself too seriously. Love the book, sorry to see it end and I highly recommend this book. It's well written, entertaining and it gives us Peter Sagan unfiltered.

I admit to being a HUGE Sagan fan. It's been very hard to read a little bit at a time instead of reading it in a couple sittings. It carries the attitude of Sagan well - have fun, keep perspective, and be grateful for what you have. Also loved that the actual hardcover of the book is a different photo than the dust cover - and that it's in color too - with the trademark "Why so serious?" on the back.

Peter Segan is truly a cyclists that comes along once in a generation. I enjoyed reading the book, but I think some of the language could have been cleaned up for younger readers. Also, sometimes the sentence structure was a bit awkward and made the flow of the story a little difficult to follow. The book was a good insight into Peter’s world as a cyclist and as a person. He is a fierce competitor, but he understands that there is more to life than cycling. I was impressed with Peter’s insight into cycling and life in general. I would buy the book again.

Sagan really could have benefited from using a different ghost writer. It's clunky and hard to read in addition to the line lengths being very short. One example of poor writing/editing: on page 80 in chapter Family he tells a story that includes "Gabri". I'm confused and read forward and realized he/they hadn't introduced us to Gabriele "Gabri" Uboldi yet. This is Sagan's personal business but he/they talk about Katarina often but leave out that they announced their separating during the TDF. Again, his business but found it odd. I was expecting more insight into what motivates Sagan as I'm a big fan but this book is a clunky let down. Let's hope in ten to fifteen years we get a retrospective of his career written by someone else.

This book accomplished what I hope it would, provide a detailed account of what was going through Peter's head leading up to and during his three historic world championship wins, and his involvement in the classics. He describes his racing tactics, a little about his competition and team bosses. His ghost writer did a great job making the stories interesting and easy to read. Peter is a young, rich and very talented person. He doesn't always use good judgement and that will be clear to you through some of his very frank and honest stories about some of his antics. It is what it is. Do not expect deep insights about the sport or his philosophy on life. He is too in the middle of it to really know yet. That will be the sequel book years after he retires, when he has matured.

Legendary Sagan! As he says in the book; "Every cyclist has a story, but this is his story". I thoroughly enjoy this book, learning about a pro cyclist's perspective and what they go through during a race. This is a book that any die-hard cyclist will enjoy. I took the hard copy as appose to a digital copy because to me it is a collector's item. Peter is so good for the sport and he has one amazing personality.

Peter Sagan é meu ídolo a bastante tempo, esse livro só me fez apreciar mais o trabalho dele, é uma obra de arte sobre o Peter durante seus 3 anos como campeão mundial.

Sehr interessant und informativ

Awesome book, very interesting, love the style. Can't recommend more

Para quienes somos fan de un grandioso ciclista como Peter Sagan, entrar en su visión es realmente interesante, Un libro que permite entender la visión de un gran ciclista.

Great book and written from Sagan’s unique perspective...it really feels like he’s just chatting with you about his cycling career. 10/10