PARIS, BRATISLAVA. Slovak cyclist Peter Sagan before the 12th stage Tour de France In 2021 he announced the end of the prestigious race.
The reason is the injury he caused in the 3rd stage of the Tour and limited it in the following days.
“I’m not happy to leave the Tour. After my fall in the third stage, it seemed at first that it was gradually improving. But two days ago I sprinted the same knee on the handlebars. Yesterday was a fairly fast stage with two climbs on Mt. Ventoux and I probably overloaded my knee. It’s swollen and I have trouble bending it, “Peter Sagan explained to accredited journalists.
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He added that in the current situation, the best solution for him is rest and recovery.
He got antibiotics
During the sprint on the finish line in the third stage, Sagana was knocked to the ground by Caleb Ewan, who hit one of the opponents’ wheel. When falling, a large transducer – a gear hit Sagan’s right knee.
He described to RTVS that he only stepped through the pain. “He stabs me in it as if they were putting needles in it. I hope it gets better,“he said Peter Sagan for RTVS after stage 11. But the next morning they agreed with the team to withdraw from the Tour.
“I couldn’t even get out of bed without help in the morning,” he told reporters.
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“We were worried that Peter might get an infection there, but we treated the wound and was able to continue the race,” said team doctor Christopher Edler.
“Unfortunately, in stage 10 he hit the same place. The wound opened again and swelled. We treated everything, he also got antibiotics, but he had to resign from the Tour,” added Edler.
Sagana ends up on the Tour sorry. During the previous nine starts on the Tour, he did not finish only once – in 2017. At that time, however, the judges excluded him from the Tour.
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Sagan: There was no point in continuing
This year on the Tour was not as strong in sprints as in the past. However, he was limited by an injured knee. He finished fifth twice, eighth once.
In the fight for the green jersey, he had a 123-point loss to Mark Cavendish after eleven stages.
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“If I can’t bend my leg, there is no point in continuing. All the more so because we have a stage in which we will go full speed from the start due to the threat of crosswinds,” the Slovak champion explained.
“It’s difficult for me also because at such a stage I wanted to help Wilc Kelderman in his fight. I’m disappointed. Injuries are part of cycling. In this situation, however, only rest will help me,” he added.
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For the Slovak cyclist, this is the very first resignation from the French race in his career, at the same time it never happened that he did not wear a green jersey during at least one day during the Tour.
Sagan is scheduled to start at the Tokyo Olympics in two weeks. He did not rule out his start at the moment. “We will see how I can recover and prepare for the Olympics. First of all, I want to recover,” he added.
This year’s Tour is challenging. Many cyclists had to resign due to injuries. Of the 184 competitors who started on the Tour, only 155 entered the 12th stage on Thursday.
Tour de France 2021
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