Peter Sagan says effort on previous day may have hindered sprint on stage four of Tour de France 2019

The former world champion was in the mix but couldn’t find victory

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Peter Sagan says his sprint on stage four may have suffered after his efforts on the previous day at the Tour de France.

The former three-time world champion was in with another chance at victory on stage four to Nancy, but missed out to the pure sprinters as Elia Viviani (Deceuninck – Quick-Step) took his first Tour victory.

Sagan, who currently leads the points classification, has been the most consistent rider of the Tour so far but has missed out on victory on three occasions.

>>> ‘I couldn’t imagine this as a boy’: Elia Viviani completes set of Grand Tour wins at Tour de France 2019

The Bora-Hansgrohe rider says his performance on stage four may have been hindered by his explosive climbing effort the day before, when he followed the punchy climbers while the sprinters slipped back.

Speaking after stage four, Sagan said: “Yesterday I kept going with the climbers. It was pretty hard and I spent more energy than the sprinters. That’s possibly what I was missing today, but I’m not worried.

“The most important for me is to be in the front again today, to be constant in the sprints and stay safe.”

Sagan finished fourth on the stage behind pure sprinters Viviani, Alexander Kristoff (UAE Team Emirates) and Caleb Ewan (Lotto-Soudal), meaning he has finished in the top five of every road stage so far at the Tour de France 2019.

The 29-year-old is chasing a record seventh Tour de France green jersey and signs look promising after the opening four stages, with Sagan leading the classification by 23 points over Viviani.

>>> Five talking points from stage four of the Tour de France 2019

Sagan added: “The fastest won today. My concern was whether to stay on Elia’s wheel or not, but Deceuninck obviously have the best train.

“It was a pretty fast sprint for the pure sprinters or real sprinters, whatever you want to call them.”

Sagan could be in with another chance at victory on stage five, as the peloton take on a rolling parcours that features two categorised climbs in the final 30km and a fast, flat 10km to the line.

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Alex Ballinger

Alex Ballinger is editor of BikeBiz magazine, the leading publication for the UK cycle industry, and is the former digital news editor for CyclingWeekly.com. After gaining experience in local newsrooms, national newspapers and in digital journalism, Alex found his calling in cycling, first as a reporter, then as news editor responsible for Cycling Weekly's online news output, and now as the editor of BikeBiz. Since pro cycling first captured his heart during the 2010 Tour de France (specifically the Contador-Schleck battle) Alex covered three Tours de France, multiple editions of the Tour of Britain, and the World Championships, while both writing and video presenting for Cycling Weekly. He also specialises in fitness writing, often throwing himself into the deep end to help readers improve their own power numbers.  Away from the desk, Alex can be found racing time trials, riding BMX and mountain bikes, or exploring off-road on his gravel bike. He’s also an avid gamer, and can usually be found buried in an eclectic selection of books.