Yellow jersey Fabian Cancellara and points classification leader Peter Sagan have both reacted to today’s huge pileup in the Tour de France, a smash-up which took down Mark Cavendish (Sky) and several others.
Both riders have been key players in the Tour thus far, and kept their grip on those jerseys in the chaotic finale.
“I'm lucky and happy that I could get through it all safely. It's never nice when people crash,” said Cancellara, who was several bike lengths behind the mass pileup, but was able to safely come to a halt rather than hitting the deck.
“There are only milliseconds to think about going left or right, or do you jump over it when a guys falls in front of you? There's a micro moment to consider what to do but really you have to go where the wave is going. The bunch goes from one side of the road to the other side and when it's going so fast and it's so hectic, it could happen or it could not happen. I don't say it's a lottery but when someone just moves a little the whole peloton moves and eventually there'll be a crash.”
Sagan had an even more impressive escape, with the former mountainbike rider showing his skills in steering out of trouble. Cavendish and others fell right in front of him, but Sagan was able to haul on the brakes, turn the bike almost completely sideways, manoeuvre his way around those who were on the ground and then get back into contention for the sprint.
That most likely cost him energy compared to those who were not close to the fall. He crossed the line fifth behind André Greipel (Lotto Belisol Team), Alessandro Petacchi (Lampre – ISD), Tom Veelers (Argos-Shimano) and Matt Goss (Orica GreenEdge), and added to his points haul.
Sagan will be pleased about that gain, but even more so that he stayed upright. “Today it was very difficult to win because it was also a crash and it was very dangerous. These sprints in the Tour de France create a very nervous group. All the riders want to be in the front group and it's very stressful but I'm happy that I didn't crash today,” he said.
“I feel good because I stayed upright and I got some points for the green jersey; I'm good. I didn't see the crash. I was nearby because it was on my left side and all the riders came pushing in to me and I was lucky to stay up.
“For now it's been a very good Tour for me but also I hope – and I'll try – to get the green jersey all the way to Paris.”
He’s firmly in green at this point in time, his 147 points far ahead of the 92 of Goss and the 87 of Greipel. Last year’s Maillot Vert Cavendish is on 86 points, having lost out on a chunk today when he fell.