Sagan’s expulsion from Tour harsh: LeMond
PETER Sagan is an aggressive rider but he did not deserve to be disqualified from the Tour de France because he did not intentionally send Mark Cavendish crashing to the ground, three- time Tour de France champion Greg LeMond says. World champion Sagan was kicked out of the race after elbowing his British rival off balance in a hectic sprint in the fourth stage, the race jury saying the Slovak wilfully obstructed Cavendish some 100 metres from the line.
Riders often reach 70km/ h in a sprint and any change of line or contact can have dramatic consequences.
“It is too harsh, I think,” American LeMond said.
“In a sprint, when you’re in front you try to close the door a little but sprints are very dangerous.
“What Sagan did was wrong but was it intentional? Did he purposely send Cavendish into the barriers? I don’t think so.”