CyclistHow cycling legends were born: Sagan three-peats at the WorldsIts the morning of 16th October 2016 and the cycling world is in Doha, Qatar, readying itself for the final event of the Road World Championships the mens road race. It has been a tough week for the UCI, with questions asked over why the championships have been brought here at all. The heat has been incessant and roadside support sparse. Local engagement has been virtually non-existent even the taxi drivers are seemingly unaware there is a World Championships happening in their city. With one race to go it feels like this is a Worlds that needs saving.From the Aspire Zone, a vast sports complex in Doha, 199 riders roll out for the 257km mens race, heading north into the desert. The wind is blowing and everyone knows the key part of the race will come early, after 75km or so, when the route turns south towards the finishing circuit on Pearl Island.With a small break up the road, the peloton starts to ride furiously as it approaches the right-hand turn back to the city. The pace is high, like the leadout to a sprint finish, as riders battle to secure positioning. Gaps appear, with riders left behind desperately trying to reconnect. Everyone knew this would be a crucial moment, but knowing it and doing something about it are two different things.The Belgium team drives the move hard alongside Italy as a cross-tailwind causes carnage. A group of 20 or so riders forms at the front, and although there is still 150km to go it seems clear the winner will come from this group. Tom Boonen is there, as are Mark Cavendish, Michael Matthews and Alexander Kristoff. So too is the reigning World Champion, Slovakias Peter Sagan. He was one of the last riders to make the group after the key turn in the desert. That was the first victory of the day, he will later say.Once on Pearl Island the riders face 15 laps of a technical 7.2km circuit. The front groups lead is around one minute and will grow as the kilometres click by and as the bell rings for the final lap 21 riders remain in contention. Tom Leezer of the Netherlands makes a solo bid but is brought back as the final sprint winds up with 300m to go.Sagan times his move perfectly. He goes to the right while Cavendish goes left. It is tight; Sagan risks being squeezed out on the barrier, but the Slovak makes it through to beat Cavendish to the line. They are followed by Boonen, the Belgian rounding out a podium of the highest quality.After the presentation Sagan walks into the media conference wearing the rainbow jersey he has just defended. Charisma oozes from him. He stops to watch a TV replay of the finish, grins and points to the screen. The mood has lifted. Doha has its saviour.I think maybe it was destiny, he says. It doesnt happen every day that I can win a sprint like this. He smiles. Everybody is happy again.Peter Sagan celebrates his hat-trick after a narrow win over home favourite Alexander Kristoff in Bergen, Norway, at the 2017 World Championships.GettyThree is the magic numberSagan had claimed his first Worlds title 12 months earlier in Richmond, USA, breaking away in the last couple of kilometres. In Doha, Sagan became only the sixth man to successfully defend the title, joining Georges Ronsse (1928/29), Rik Van Steenbergen (1956/57), Rik Van Looy (1960/61), Gianni Bugno (1991/92) and Paolo Bettini (2006/07). Only four men had ever won three titles in total (Alfredo Binda, Van Steenbergen, Eddy Merckx and scar Freire), and none had won them in succession, which meant that at the 2017 Worlds, Sagan had an opportunity to make history.The 2017 mens race started in the village of Rong, some 27km northwest of the host city of Bergen, Norway, and culminated with 12 laps of a 19km circuit that took in the 1.5km Salmon Hill. In the build-up Sagan was among the fancied riders, along with home favourites Alexander Kristoff and Edvald Boasson Hagen and Belgian pair Greg Van Avermaet and Philippe Gilbert. But then disaster struck.Sagan had planned to arrive in Bergen ten days before the event but had been struck down with flu, forcing him to spend days off the bike. He was still at home in Monaco just two days before the race when he was also hit with a stomach upset.Suffice to say it was not the preparation Id had in mind going into one of the highlights of the racing calendar, Sagan wrote in My World, before revealing he spent most of his flight north in the toilet.Still, the Slovak surprised his national teammates by making the start, and as the race progressed began to feel a little more like himself. As the final lap approached, Sagan had amazed himself by still being in the leading bunch of around 60.A UCI official starts clanging furiously at a big old brass bell to tell us there is one lap to go, Sagan wrote. Im suddenly acutely aware of the No.1 on my back. Its now four in the afternoon and Ive probably got about half an hour left as UCI World Champion.A flurry of moves came on the final climb of Salmon Hill. Frances Julian Alaphilippe attacked and Italys Gianni Moscon eventually followed, making for a dangerous break with around 10km to go. Behind, the group was chasing and with 5km left the pairs lead was eight seconds over the pursuing bunch, with a couple of riders Vasil Kiryienka and Lukas Pstlberger in between. With a little over 4km to go, Alaphilippe broke away from Moscon and set off alone and then the TV coverage dropped off.While fans, commentators and reporters struggled to find out what was happening, Sagan was finding the race equally confusing. As the sprint approached he knew that his group had caught Kiriyienka and Pstlberger but had no idea if Alaphilippe, Moscon and maybe others were still out front. Still, he readied himself for the final sprint: Worry about the position after.In fact Sagan and company had caught all the escapees. In the final kilometre there were 28 riders at the head of the race and Sagan knew whose wheel he had to find: Kristoff, the man who Norwegian fans lining the circuit were roaring on. With around 300m to go Kristoff hit the front with Sagan right behind. With 100m left Sagan came out from the wheel, drew alongside and then threw his bike across the line.At first the Slovak didnt know whod won. Then came the confirmation Sagan had it by less than half a wheel.I dont know, maybe its karma that I won, Sagan said afterwards. There are a lot of races in a year but this one is special. You need luck, its a lottery, it could have happened or maybe not.Sagan had achieved something remarkable, something unique.World Champion three times in a row, Sagan wrote in My World. One UCI rainbow jersey and gold medal in the Americas, one in the Middle East, one in Scandinavia. Nobody had ever done those things before.The post How cycling legends were born: Sagan three-peats at the Worlds appeared first on Cyclist.