Tinkoff-Saxo sign Tour de France green jersey holder Peter Sagan on three-year deal

Sprinter joins team led by two-time Tour winner Alberto Contador

Peter Sagan (Getty Images)

Denmark-based team Tinkoff-Saxo says it has signed Slovak sprinter Peter Sagan, holder of the Tour de France's green jersey, for a three-year period.

Team manager Bjarne Riis said Friday that Sagan "has the ability to bring home victories," adding the 24-year-old Slovak will leave Cannondale and join the Russian-owned team next year.

Sagan proved the Tour's best sprinter for the third straight year. He did not win a single stage, despite four runner-up finishes, but his consistency gave him a lead of more than 140 points in the best sprinter contest.

Team Tinkoff-Saxo includes two-time Tour winner Alberto Contador of Spain who crashed out with injuries this year before the halfway mark.

AP