Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) defended the maneuver that relegated him from second place on stage 11 of the Tour de France, claiming he made contact with Wout Van Aert's ribs from his line to avoid a collision with an advertising bollard surrounded by roadside barriers.

The race jury relegated Sagan to last place in the peloton after deeming that Sagan had bumped Van Art in the shoulder with a few meters remaining in the stage won by Caleb Yuan (Lot Soudal) in a blanket finish.

The demotion was a major blow to Sagan, who was looking for his eighth points prize. Not only did he lose points for finishing second in the stage, but the Slovakian was also penalized 13 points and will start stage 12 about 68 points behind the green jersey of Sam Bennett (Deceuninck-QuickStep).

Bennett extended his lead to 70 points in the intermediate sprint at the 51km mark of stage 12.

"Yesterday might have been a good day, but it ended up being an okay day. I don't know what to say," Sagan told Eurosport at the start of stage 12 in Chauvigny.

Sagan, a three-time world champion, suggested that he deviated from the line only to avoid a collision with an advertising bollard that was sticking out of the barriers.

"I defended my line. I went from behind and there was a little space," Sagan said.

"The barrier was pretty close, but just past the middle of the barrier, there was like a pole that was brandished 90 degrees out. I was going to contact the handlebars for sure if I kept going, so I pulled to the left a little bit. I didn't think it was a dangerous move. I didn't think it was a dangerous move.

Sagan reiterated this explanation in an interview with ITV, insisting that he did not intentionally block or attempt to obstruct Van Aert. The Belgian, who finished the stage in fourth place (later upgraded to third), expressed his irritation by raising his middle finger and was fined 200 Swiss francs for the gesture.

"I have to accept [the commissaire's decision]," Sagan said.

"I did my sprint. I did my sprint. I was fighting for my survival."

In further interviews with France Télévisions and RTBF (opens in new tab), Sagan was asked about Van Aert's reaction to the operation.

"After a finish like that, everyone overreacts. It's an emotional thing," Sagan said. I've had that experience. He's young and strong, but he should be a little more relaxed."

VanArt laughed when asked by Sporza (open in new tab) to respond to Sagan's comments.

"I don't think I should respond to that. 'Of course, I did respond myself yesterday. I'll admit that. It probably wasn't the right way to start the conversation."