Here's what the man himself and others had to say on social media following an incident in which Peter Sagan was knocked off by a support motorbike in the Vuelta a España
During stage eight of the 2015 Vuelta a España, the biggest talking point from the race was an incident in which Peter Sagan was knocked off his bike by a support motorbike.
What’s more, it was a stage he could plausibly have won and he was later forced to withdraw from the race entirely as a result of his injuries.
As is the way these days, people took to social media to voice their concern for the rider, their dismay at the fact he was fined for his reaction and in one case some conspiracy theories on the whole sorry affair.
The man himself was relatively restrained in his calls for reforms as a result of the incident. This isn’t the first time a race vehicle has stolen the headlines this season.
I hope that what happened today is finally enough for starting doing things differently!! @lavuelta
— Peter Sagan (@petosagan) August 29, 2015
Sagan’s Tinkoff-Saxo team confirmed the news that a race motorbike was to blame for the incident, something that wasn’t entirely clear at first due to a lack of footage.
Confirmed: a motorbike unbelievably hit @petosagan and took him out of contention in the stage finale #LV2015 pic.twitter.com/jiHbxHvCSU
— Tinkoff (@tinkoff_team) August 29, 2015
The day after the incident, once the Slovak had been forced to leave the Vuelta, he posted a statement from his team espressing their dissatisfaction about the forced withdrawal of their co-leader.
I couldn't be quiet, had to speak uphttps://t.co/sFfMRnFhzI pic.twitter.com/QWHlnrJ4A9
— Peter Sagan (@petosagan) August 30, 2015
Something a bit lighter from elsewhere in the twittersphere…
#Lv2015 – Bon allez promis, après on arrête. Mais @MrFiestina est au-dessus du lot ! 😂 http://t.co/CdKfKHJwqc
— La GazetteDes Sports (@GazetteDesSport) August 29, 2015
Never shy to say what he thinks, team owner Oleg Tinkov make his feelings clear in no uncertain terms.
I think UCI and ASO are bunch of pricks that's it https://t.co/YwowulHCcF
— Oleg Tinkov (@olegtinkov) August 29, 2015
He then left it a couple of hours before voicing a bit of a conspiracy theory on what he thinks could have been a wider plot against his team and its star riders.
Peter Sagan was hit out by moto of #Vuelta2015 in just 8km before his 2nd win. Coincidence or start of #ASO campaign against @tinkoff_saxo ?
— Oleg Tinkov (@olegtinkov) August 30, 2015
ITV’s Ned Boulting gave us all a bit of perspective on the strange world of the UCI‘s fines and punishments. Some topical examples from this year’s Vuelta that highlight the seemingly unconnected nature of infringement to financial penalty.
Some UCI fines so far:
Grmay 400 CHF (wrong jersey)
Sagan 300 CHF (being angry after nearly being killed)Nibali 200 CHF (cheating)
— Ned Boulting (@nedboulting) August 29, 2015
Boulting’s Vuelta highlights co-presenter and ex-pro David Millar had a better idea for the moto driver after their expulsion from the rest of the race.
As punishment they should make the motorbike rider that knocked @petosagan off ride the rest of the Vuelta… on a bicycle.
— David Millar (@millarmind) August 30, 2015
GCN’s man in America Neal Rogers articulately described what a number of us were thinking when news came through that Sagan had been penalised for his reaction to being toppled off and injured.
That @UCI_cycling commissaires fined @petosagan for his angry reaction is an insult. If anything, they should be compensating him. Unreal.
— Neal Rogers (@nealrogers) August 29, 2015
Let us know if we’ve missed any insightful or amusing tweets about Sagan’s moto incident in the comments below.