Dan Martin says Peter Sagan can't get “dispensation”
Dan Martin has said Peter Sagan could not be afforded any special treatment over the incident that resulted in his disqualification from the Tour de France.
Writing in his Irish Times Tour de France Diary, Martin offers his view on the stage 4 sprint finish crash.
Peter Sagan (Bora-hansgrohe) was judged to have ridden dangerously in causing the crash that took out Mark Cavendish (Dimension Data).
For many the slow motion replay suggested Cavendish went for a gap that didn’t exist. And many believed he was falling irrespective of Sagan using his elbow.
However, the jury’s word was final and he was sent home.
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And Dan Martin says while there was disagreement over Sagan being disqualified, it must be remembered that pro cyclist’s were role models. The judge’s verdict must be accepted.
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“If a kid dies after making a move like that, how would we feel then?” he says.
“They need to be shown that it’s not allowed. And just because Sagan is the world champion, I don’t think we have to give him special dispensation.
“The decision to send him home showed that nobody is above the law.”
Martin added while Sagan’s use of the elbow looked like “a pretty vicious” move, eventual stage winner Arnaud Demare’s “sprint was also pretty extreme, yet he wasn’t even warned”.
The Irish rider’s diary rattles through each day in the first week, stage by stage.
Martin reveals that on stage 2 when Chris Froome and Geraint Thomas (Team Sky) crashed at a roundabout, Philippe Gilbert had warned his team.
The Belgian told all of the riders he knew of the roundabout. He said there were crashes there every time a race went through it.
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