Peter Sagan showed his mettle as one of the most exciting and explosive riders in the peloton as he powered through the field to take second place in the Stage 5 sprint finish at Amiens.
Sagan produced a huge burst of speed from a long way back to take second place, besting a fading Mark Cavendish and nearly overcoming Andre Greipel. Even so, the Tinkoff-Saxo rider was pleased with the result.
"I was simply too far back in 10th position with a hundred meters to go and I couldn’t catch Greipel. It’s hard to beat a rider like him and I’m happy with my 2nd place," said Sagan.
"I was free to do my own race in the last five kilometres and I tried to position myself but a lot of riders came from behind,' he added. "It was also very crazy today with rain, wind and a lot of crashes and I’m happy with how we finished. Everybody wants to be at the front on a day like this to protect their team leaders and that creates tension in the group. We will see what happens tomorrow, it will depend on the conditions and if there is wind, because I want to help and protect Alberto but maybe I can do a good result in the finale.”
Tonight's 191.5km stage will see the peloton travel across the north coast of France from Abbeville to Le Havre. With an undulating profile, anticipated crosswinds and an uphill finish, tonight could well be Sagan's night.
