Big Blow: Peter Sagan has been disqualified from the Tour de France
Peter Sagan disqualified from Tour de France
Peter Sagan has been disqualified from the Tour de France over crash at the end of stage 4 in Vittel today.
The world champion’s elbow sent Mark Cavendish (Dimension Data) in the steel crowd control barriers at the side of the road.
And when Cavendish fell, hitting both the barriers and then the tarmac, at high speed others behind him also came down.
John Degenkolb (Trek-Segafredo) and Ben Swift (UAE Emirates) both fell very hard.
Sagan sprinted on and ended the stage 2nd behind victor Arnaud Demare (FDJ).
And thought Peter Sagan went to Cavendish’s team bus to apologise, he is now on his way home.
Le jury des commissaires a pris la décision de mettre Peter Sagan hors course / Commissaires' panel decided to exclude Peter Sagan. pic.twitter.com/4zaAXhIANT
— Le Tour de France (@LeTour) July 4, 2017
It’s a huge blow for his Bora-hansgrohe team. It is in its first year at WorldTour level.
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And having signed Sagan at great expense, it was expecting the main return for that investment to come at the Tour de France.
He duly sprinted in to win yesterday’s stage 2, which finished on a small climb. And he took that win even though his foot came out of the pedal mid-sprint.
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After the finish today it was initially decided he would be punished for his role in the crash. That sanction saw him docked 30 seconds on the general classification and also 80 points in the race for the green jersey.
It meant he plummeted down the standings, from his 2nd overall after today’s stage. But following further deliberations by the race jury, involving consulting video evidence, Sagan has been disqualified.
For his part, Cavendish has been examined in hospital and has no broken bones.
It remains unclear if his soft tissue injuries will allow him continue in the Tour.
He struck a conciliatory tone towards Sagan, saying he wanted an explanation about his use of the elbow but accepting that crashes happen in sprints.
“I get on with Peter well,” he said.
“But if he came across that’s one thing; but the elbow. I’m not a fan of him putting his elbow in me like that.
“Like I said, I get on with Peter, a crash is a crash but I just need to know about the elbow really.”
The riders behind the crash and who were held up by it were all given the same time as winner Demare.
It means Geraint Thomas (Team Sky) keeps his yellow jersey.
Irish riders Dan Martin (QuickStep) and Nicolas Roche (BMC Racing) were both credited with the time of the peloton.
Today’s stage took the riders 207.5km from Mondorf-les-Bains to Vittel.
More to come.
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