Peter Sagan's Tour de France in doubt after heavy crash on descent on stage 17

Tour’s green jersey wearer soldiers on despite a high speed crash on a descent

Peter Sagan fights to the finish despite a heavy crash on stage 17

(Image credit: Yuzuru Sunada)

Peter Sagan has said it would have been very easy for him to leave the Tour de France after he crashed on a descent on stage 17 but he chose to continue to the finish before making a decision on whether to continue in the Tour tomorrow morning.

Sagan sported bandages down his right side after he left the medical truck at the finish on the Col du Portet after finishing the stage in 134th place, nearly half an hour behind stage winner Nairo Quintana.

The holder of the Tour’s green jersey said he crashed on a corner on the second of two descents of the day. “I was braking but it was not enough. I flew in to the forest and I hit a big rock with my arse.

“For sure I'm injured but it could be worse. I think I have some scratches and I hit my muscle on my arse. I hope it's going to be better in one or two days.”

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When asked if he considered climbing into a team car and out of the race he said: “It would be very easy to go home just two or three days before Paris.”

Sagan was unsure if he would be able to contest the sprint that is expected to finish tomorrow’s stage into Pau: “We will see. Now I'm up for the race, we'll see tomorrow morning.”

Team doctor Jan-Niklas Droste added that Sagan had only suffered bruising and scratches but that a final decision on whether he starts tomorrow’s stage would be taken tomorrow.

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“It can be stiff [with these injuries] or it could be too painful. If it’s too difficult to do a good race we’ll take a different decision but we’ll have to see when we’re at the hotel.”

Sagan said he just had to keep his own pace on the final climb to make it to the finish.

If he is forced to abandon the race it would had the green jersey to Alexander Kristoff (UAE-Emirates), one of the few sprinters left in the race, who is currently 282 points behind Sagan’s total of 452.

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Having trained as a journalist at Cardiff University I spent eight years working as a business journalist covering everything from social care, to construction to the legal profession and riding my bike at the weekends and evenings. When a friend told me Cycling Weekly was looking for a news editor, I didn't give myself much chance of landing the role, but I did and joined the publication in 2016. Since then I've covered Tours de France, World Championships, hour records, spring classics and races in the Middle East. On top of that, since becoming features editor in 2017 I've also been lucky enough to get myself sent to ride my bike for magazine pieces in Portugal and across the UK. They've all been fun but I have an enduring passion for covering the national track championships. It might not be the most glamorous but it's got a real community feeling to it.