Peter Sagan vented his frustration at Wout van Aert on the finish line at Tour de France stage 3 today and again after the race when speaking to reporters.
When the 182km stage from Vejle to Sønderborg came down to a bunch sprint, QuickStep Alpha Vinyl lost control at the front, with Christophe Laporte moving into poll position to lead out his Jumbo Visma team mate Van Aert.
Though Van Aert went early, it looked like he may hold on to win, before Sagan (TotalEnergies) began threatening on his inside. Van Aert reacted by moving to his right, significantly, to close the door on Sagan - and Caleb Ewan (Lotto Soudal) just behind them.
When Van Aert and Sagan made shoulder to shoulder contact, Dylan Groenewegen (BikeExchange-Jayco) dived around them both to win; the Dutchman claiming his first stage win in three years at the Tour.
Advertisement
And while Van Aert is normally a very fair sprinter, Sagan was clear in his view at the finish line - pointing his finger at the yellow jersey and mouthing what looked like an expletive.
Afterwards he told the media: "I was in the right position, but something was still missing. There is a jury to make decisions. I am especially happy that I am still intact. You just have to watch television to judge the sprint."
Related News
In the end, Van Aert had to be content with his third 2nd place in three stages in Denmark, with Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) coming through for 3rd while Sagan was 4th, though he looks in his best shape for a long time.
