Sagan disqualified from Tour de France for elbowing

Arnaud Demare survived some craziness down the stretch Tuesday that led to the disqualification of Peter Sagan and the withdrawal of Mark Cavendish to win the fourth stage of the Tour de France.

The 128.9-mile stage entering Vittel saw Sagan deliver an elbow that sent Britain’s Cavendish flying into the barriers at a high rate of speed. Demare avoided his own crash scare as well in outdistancing Norway’s Alexander Kristoff at the finish line.

Sagan and Cavendish both paid a high price for Sagan’s actions. Sagan was disqualified for the remainder of the Tour de France, and Cavendish pulled out of the event after he was diagnosed with a broken shoulder blade.

“We’ve decided to disqualify Peter Sagan from the Tour de France 2017 after the tumultuous sprint here in Vittel,” race jury president Philippe Marien said. “He endangered multiple riders, Mark Cavendish and others who were implicated in the crash, in the final meters of the sprint.

“We applied article 12.104, irregular sprints, in which case commissaires are allowed to enforce a judgment to disqualify a rider and amend a fine.”

Sagan explained his actions prior to the disqualification.

“Mark was coming pretty fast from the back,” said Sagan, a Slovakian. “I didn’t have time to react and go left and he just came to me and after into the fence.”

Cavendish was irate immediately after the incident that left him with an injured shoulder and a badly cut finger that will require stitching.

“I will definitely need stitches in this finger, it’s bleeding a lot,” Cavendish said before he was diagnosed with a broken shoulder blade. “With the shoulder, it might be something to do with a previous injury; it’s sat backwards so I’m not sure if I’ve done something to the ligament. I’m not a doctor but from the feelings I’m not optimistic.”

Later, Dimension Data team doctor Adrian Rotunno issued a statement, which read, “Mark suffered a fracture to the right scapula.”

The incident overshadowed Demare’s first Tour stage victory. It also marked the first by a Frenchman in a bunch sprint since 2006.

“This win is extraordinary. It’s marvelous,” the 25-year-old Demare said. “I’ve dreamed about winning a stage at the Tour de France since turning professional.”

Following Demare and Kristoff to the finish line were German Andre Greipel in third and France’s Nacer Bouhanni in fourth.

Britain’s Geraint Thomas remains in possession of the yellow jacket as the overall leader.