Peter Sagan returned to Paris-Roubaix after a two-year absence and the Cannondale rider did well in the Queen of the Classics as he finished 6th after animating the finale. Instead of putting all his eggs in the sprint basket, the Slovakian chose to attack and was pleased with the outcome of the race that proved that he has the skills to be competitive in this race.

Over the last two years, Peter Sagan has been one of the dominant riders in the cobbled classics but since 2011 he has not given Paris-Roubaix a shot. This year he decided to return to the race in a quest to gain experience and see if he has the ability to win the race in the future.

Early in the race it seemed that Sagan's race was over as he struggled at the back of a group that had fallen off the pace and he seemed to have lost all morale. After a regrouping, however, he got back to full strength and decided to anticipate the race favourites.

Sagan attacked with Maarten Wynants (Belkin) inside the final 40km and bridged across to a group that included Thor Hushovd and Tom Boonen. When that group was about to be caught, he took off again and entered the crucial Carrefour de l'Arbre pavé as the lone leader.

In the end, he was caught by the group of favourites and he had no response to the decisive attack from eventual winner Niki Terpstra. Cramps derailed his sprint when the elite selection battled it out for second but the Slovakian was pleased with the result that proved his future potential in the Queen of the Classics.

"First of all I'm happy with this result and with the performance as well, even if the luck was not with me today," he said. "Just before Arenberg I had to change my bike due to a crash as my rear derailleur had been broken. Then I had a puncture and I continued the race on the bike of my teammate Alan Marangoni for 20km before I could get my own. I took some time to recover every time but this is Paris-Roubaix.

"In the velodrome I wasn't able to sprint due to cramps, but anyway I'm satisfied with my result even if I didn't get the victory or the podium. With what I did today, after a so long campaign in the North, I'm fine. Now I know I can be competitive in race like this. I know I can improve, there's something to work on.

"Before the Carrefour the l'Arbre I decided to attack and to anticipate to don't risk getting dropped. I decided to continue with the Belkin rider [Wynants] even if he did not cooperate. I had already spent a lot of energy and this strategy was the only chance I had for a good result. And the result was good.

"I finished the first part of my season with a positive signal. Not all the races went as I expected but anyway it was a good experience."

“The plan of the day was to don’t waste any energy and just wait the last part of the race to see Peter’s feeling," sports director Stefano Zanatta said. "I think he played his chance in the best possible way. We agreed in the morning to try to anticipate the favorites in the finale, if he had legs. He did a gutsy performance and raced with great intelligence. We’re happy for what he did.”

Sagan will now have a period of rest, then he'll return in action at Tour of California, his first step to prepare for the Tour de France.