Monaco resident Peter Sagan and his wife Katarina have announced the birth of their first child, a boy named Marlon. The Slovak cycling champion broke the news on October 25 Twitter, his favourite means of communication.

Sagan, who is idolised in his home country, last month became the first man ever to win the road world championship for the third year in a row.

After his disqualification from the Tour de France in July, Sagan’s fortunes on the road have markedly improved. In September, he took his 100th professional win at the Grand Prix Cycliste de Quebec, and then followed that with his third consecutive rainbow jersey in Bergen, Norway.

Sagan said he had stayed in Monaco to be at his wife’s side instead of attending the UCI World Gala in Guilin, China. “I think you understand that family comes above all, so I want to be by the side of my wife,” he said.

Sagan has said that he prefers to live in Monaco rather than Slovakia since his celebrity at home would make his life difficult. In Monaco, he enjoys relative anonymity, he said.

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