Tour De France Stage 3: Daily Dish

Another round of fun antics from Peter Sagan lights up Stage 3.


Joe Lindsey |

Another round of fun antics from Peter Sagan lights up Stage 3. – By Joe Lindsey

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We’ll admit, we’re fans of Bora-Hansgrohe’s Peter Sagan. Few racers display more personality than the Slovakian speedster, whether it’s asking impromptu-but-legit questions of his competition in a post-race interview or releasing remakes of famous scenes from the musical Grease.What’s more, there’s a carefree, unforced nature to it that makes even his stranger moments disarming. It’s hard to think of a racer more “bien dans sa peau” or comfortable in one’s own skin, as the French say.

It’s even more fun when he wins. With his victory on Stage 3 (his eighth career Tour stage win), Sagan was fun to watch on the bike and off it. First, his win: out in the wind too early, slipping a pedal, and then still holding off a fast-closing Michael Matthews on the line.https://twitter.com/LeTour/status/881906805969911808There were no finish-chute wheelies, but in the post-race interview, Sagan laughed off the moment, and the pressure of being the favourite for the uphill finish. “What is pressure? I don’t know what it is,” he said with a laugh. “I pulled my feet out from my cleat; that was another mistake. I was like, What is happening today?

Also: apropos of nothing and with no explanation, he had a pair of goggles around his neck. Perhaps eye protection for the traditional champagne spray during the podium celebration? We have no idea what Sagan has in mind for his next podium fashion. What we do know is we probably won’t have to wait too long to find out.

Cannondale Hands Off KOM Jersey…To Cannondale

On Sunday, Taylor Phinney won both of the Category 4 climbs on Stage 2 to take the early lead in the race’s polka-dot jersey competition for best climber. Yesterday, with a lumpy stage route featuring five climbs (three Category 4 and two Category 3 ascents), he was destined to lose it.

But teammate Nathan Brown got in the day’s early break and won one point on the first Category 4 climb and two points for being first over the initial Category 3 summit. Since the break got caught and just two points were on offer for the finishing climb, those three points put him atop the KOM leaderboard; Sagan and Phinney are tied for second with Nils Politt, at two points. Stage 4 has just a single Category 4 climb, so unless Sagan (unlikely), Politt, or Phinney are in the break today, Brown will hold the jersey until Stage 5’s summit finish on Planches des Belles Filles.

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