Slovakia crab accumulates a bad opponent at Tour de France
The Bikeexchange Dylan Groenewegen crab sides through two opponents, ice down in the middle of the road to win the third stage with a flat race of 182 km long from Vejle to Sonderborg, Denmark. Meanwhile, the second Aert valve and the Jasper Philipsen of the UCI Proteam Alpecin - Fenix team rolled the third destination.
In the sprint stage in the last meters, Sagan collided with the valve thigh twice so that it would not be pressed close to the fence. As soon as he crossed the finish line, Slovakia was angry at the Dutch opponent.
According to Cyclingnews, members of the Totalenegies team later asked the assistant to the UCI video referee to intervene and punish Van Aert for the act of moving from the middle of the track towards the fence and squeezing Sagan.
However, Van Aert did not accept any penalties and held second place. The racer of the UCI Worldteam team Jumbo - Visma also kept the yellow shirt and expanded the distance with the chasing group on the final ranking to seven seconds.
"I can't judge, the work belongs to the organisers. You can see the situation yourself from the TV video. I'm happy to be here safe and sound," Sagan said of the incident after the game. "Van Aert definitely moved towards me from the middle of the track. At that time, I was close to the obstacle and I had to push Van Aert to avoid collision."
Asked if Van Aert's behaviour was dangerous, Sagan replied: "It's not dangerous, but it will make the image of cycling and the Tour de France worse." Van Aert, meanwhile, said he was unaware of Sagan's complaints.
TotalEnergies coach Jean-Rene Bernaudeau was disappointed that Sagan missed the win but still saw bright spots. He said: "Sagan found a feeling in his leg. The Tour de France is just beginning and there are many stages left. When things get difficult, Sagan is probably the best sprint cyclist. He didn't. Win this stage, but the good news is that Sagan feels good."
Today, the 2022 Tour de France is suspended so riders can move from Denmark to France. On July 5th, the race will continue the fourth stage, the 171.5 km mountain track from Dunkirk to Calais.
