Riders, management staying mum on stage 4 incident until Wednesday
Cavendish hit the barriers but Sagan stayed up (Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Bora-Hansgrohe have said that they will not comment on the incident that saw five-time points classification champion Peter Sagan disqualified from the Tour de France until after speaking with race commissaires Tuesday night.
Sagan was involved in a messy crash during the finishing sprint of stage 4 in Vittel, driving Dimension Data's Mark Cavendish into the barriers as the two battled for position. Cavendish hit the deck hard, bringing down John Degenkolb (Trek-Segafredo) and Ben Swift (UAE Team Emirates) as well.
The race jury initially decided to relegate Sagan and penalize him in the points classification, but upon further review, they changed course and ultimately decided to disqualify him from the Tour de France altogether.
In the aftermath of the incident, Bora are refusing to comment for now. Team press officer Ralph Scherzer told media at the race that Bora sport directors would inquire about the reasoning behind Sagan's dismissal Tuesday evening, and that sport director Ralph Denk would then address the media Wednesday morning.
Although Sagan spoke briefly in front of cameras immediately after the stage, noting, "I didn’t have time to react and go left and [Cavendish] just came to me and after into the fence," he has not weighed in on the ensuing disqualification.
Escorted to dinner by team officials, Bora's riders gave no comments to media, and Peter Sagan did not come down from his hotel room.
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
