Triple world champion Peter Sagan will skip the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix this year in order to take part in the Giro d'Italia for the first time,.
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The Slovak cyclist was due to participate in both the cobbled classics and the Giro but the reshuffled, tightly packed racing calendar due to the COVID-19 crisis meant the rider had to make some tough choices.
"I gave my word to the Giro (organisers) that Peter would take part and he also gave his word. We keep our promises," his Bora-Hansgrohe team manager Ralph Denk said on Tuesday.
The Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix, which Sagan won in 2016 and 2018 respectively, are usually scheduled in April with the Giro taking place in May.
This year, however, all three races will be held in October after racing was suspended from mid-March until the end of July to help contain the spread of the novel coronavirus.
Sagan will re-start his season on August 1 at the Strade Bianche before trying to win the Milan-San Remo Monument classic on August 8 for the first time.
He will also take part in the August 27-September 20 Tour de France, where he will be looking to claim a record-extending eighth green jersey for the points classification.
Australian Associated Press
