Tour gets wary of aggressive sprinters during stage finishes

safety will be the buzz word on the Tour de France following world champion Peter Sagan’s disqualification.

Slovak Sagan paid the price for his muscular elbow that sent Mark Cavendish crashing into the metal safety barriers and out of the Tour with a broken shoulder blade in the fourth stage sprint finish on Tuesday.

Sagan denied he’d done anything wrong but the race commission decided his elbow had “endangered” his fellow sprinters and took draconian action.

The incident has sparked a debate about whether sprinters have -- or even need -- a callous streak, attributing greater importance to their own success than their rivals’ health.

But FDJ manager Marc Madiot denied that sprinters are by nature any more feisty than other cyclists.

“It’s like football. Some people go in with their studs up, others don’t,” he said.

Certainly the sprint finish to Thursday’s 216km stage from Vesoul to Troyes, which is fast and furious, will be scrutinised closely.

And it’s sure to be as keenly fought as ever, particularly with Sagan’s absence opening up the race for the sprinters’ green jersey.

Sagan dominated that competition over the previous five years but now he has left the Tour, several riders will have their eye on a possible challenge, including Australia’s Michael Matthews or current holder Arnaud Demare of France.

Following Wednesday’s fireworks on the first mountain top finish of this year’s race, won by Italian Fabio Aru following a gutsy solo attack, it will be down to the ground with a bump, and perhaps a few bruises too.

However, sprinters will be wary after crashes marred the previous two sprint stages.

Peter Sagan’s team has appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) against the exclusion of the world champion from the Tour de France following Tuesday’s incident, Bora-Hansgrohe said on Thursday.