Poitiers (AFP)
Wout Van Aert said he was "stunned" after being hampered by Peter Sagan in the tumultuous sprint that concluded the 11th stage of the Tour de France on Wednesday in Poitiers.
The Belgian, 4th at the finish line, climbed back to third place after the downgrade of the Slovak who forced the passage between him and the barriers.
"There was still enough room on the right," said Van Aert, who admitted having started the sprint from too far upwind.
"But my only chance was to start the sprint early, otherwise I was definitely trapped. It was too far to speak of a perfect sprint."
"When Sagan pushed me, I was so stunned that I lost my momentum. I think I could have won", added the Belgian, who has already won twice since the start of the Tour, to Privas (5th stage) and Lavaur (7th stage).
Van Aert, who gave Sagan a middle finger as soon as he crossed the line, was fined 200 Swiss francs (185 euros) for "inappropriate or inappropriate behavior".
Sagan, for his part, was downgraded to last place in the peloton, a sanction with an additional penalty of 13 points for the points classification.
He was also fined 500 Swiss francs (463 euros).
© 2020 AFP