‘I finally had a real job to do’: Peter Sagan helps to pack away flamme rouge at Tour Down Under
As if winning the stage and moving into the race lead wasn't enough...
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As if winning stage four of the Tour Down Under wasn't enough, Peter Sagan decided to wind down from his victory on Friday by helping race workers to pack away the inflatable flamme rouge.
Still wearing the motocross goggles that he'd worn on the podium in Uraidla as he celebrated the stage win and moved into the ochre jersey, Sagan appears to have been being driven back from the stage finish when he got out to lend a hand to the race workers.
Sagan posted video of his manual labour on Twitter and Instagram showing him helping the orange-clad workers to haul the deflated flamme rouge into a trailer to be reinflated on Willunga Hill on Saturday.
>>> Peloton reacts to sweltering temperatures of up to 48ºC at Tour Down Under
Unsurprisingly, the man wearing the rainbow jersey rather than the orange t-shirt is quickly spotted by fans, who interrupt his work to ask for photos and autographs, with Sagan duly obliging.
Sagan then helps to pick up a last few electrical cables, before heading back towards the car having finished his hard work for the day.
A little earlier, Sagan had been racing underneath the flamme rouge on his way to victory on stage four of the Tour Down Under, out-sprinting Daryl Impey and Luis Leon Sanchez at the finish in Uraidla, a result that was enough to put him into the leader's ochre jersey with two stages remaining.
Sagan looked to have decent climbing legs on the climb towards the finish on stage four, but will have a tough task to hold on to his lead on stage five, which finishes on the three kilometres climb of Willunga Hill where Riche Porte has claimed victory for the last four years.
However there will be a further chance for Sagan to chase victory on Sunday, with the final stage being a circuit race around the streets of Adelaide.
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Henry Robertshaw began his time at Cycling Weekly working with the tech team, writing reviews, buying guides and appearing in videos advising on how to dress for the seasons. He later moved over to the news team, where his work focused on the professional peloton as well as legislation and provision for cycling. He's since moved his career in a new direction, with a role at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
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