World champion critical of Van Avermaet for not working during stage 6 attack
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Peter Sagan in the red jersey(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
The final Tirreno-Adriatico podium: Sagan, Van Avermaet and Jungels(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Peter Sagan in action during Tirreno-Adriatico's final stage(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Greg van Avermaet (BMC Racing) gets the win over Peter Sagan (Tinkoff)(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Peter Sagan (Tinkoff) helps drive the late-stage breakaway(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Peter Sagan (Tinkoff) produced a yet another strong performance to pull back six seconds on Greg Van Avermaet (BMC) in the final 10.1km time trial at Tirreno-Adriatico but it was one second short of what he needed to win the overall classification, leaving the world champion with yet another second place.
Sagan refused suggestions that he was disappointed but signs of frustration were evident as he stood one step below Van Avermaet on the final podium in San Benedetto del Tronto.
“Disappointed? If you look at it that way, it could be bad, but I look at it differently,” he argued.
“Had they not cancelled the stage, I wouldn't even be here in second place. I think I rode a good time trial; I did the most I could. There are time trials I've won in my life. I think I went well, but not great. How can you know how your rivals go? I did my best. It went how it went, that's it. My form could be the best in the world, but results count.”
Stephen is the most experienced member of the Cyclingnews team, having reported on professional cycling since 1994. He has been Head of News at Cyclingnews since 2022, before which he held the position of European editor since 2012 and previously worked for Reuters, Shift Active Media, and CyclingWeekly, among other publications.
