Wout Van Aert and Tour de France leader Primoš Roglic (Jumbo Visma) supported the commissaire's decision to demote former world champion Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) from second place in the group sprint in Poitiers.

Sagan bumped shoulders with Van Aert on his way to second place on the stage behind Caleb Yuan (Lotto Soudal).

Sagan was not banned from the Tour altogether, as he was in Vittel in 2017, where he was deemed to have caused the crash that put Mark Cavendish out of the race with a broken shoulder blade.

However, his move on Wednesday led to a demotion that was costly to his hopes of winning an eighth green jersey in Paris. It also drew the ire of both Van Aert, who responded with clear nonverbal comments after the stage, and Roglic, who said the decision to demote Sagan was the right one.

"I just watched the sprint and I think [Sagan's demotion] was the right decision. 'The sprinters are quite different from the rest of the field, they're really crazy athletes. This is the right decision."

VanArt's anger is understandable. Jumbo Visma gave him the green light to go for a third stage win.

Asked when Van Aert was given permission to sprint, Roglic replied: "In the team meeting before the race I always say we'll see how the stage goes. Not only did he have a great sprint, but he helped me get through that narrow last [7km to go - editor's note] and last spurt in the final."

Sagan's move, however, did nothing to help Van Aat's chances of completing his hat trick of stage victories following his opening week wins in Prevas and Lavaur. Instead, he had to settle for third place.

"I don't think it's the (right) way to do it like that," he said. 'In my opinion, I sprinted perfectly straight and started perfectly on the right side of the barrier. I think it's dangerous enough now

"I was really surprised and shocked the moment I felt something. I was really scared because I was giving maximum effort.

On whether he could have finished higher in the stage without Sagan's interference, Van Aat said: "Of course, I don't know if it would have been enough to win. The only chance I had was when there was space on the right side, so I went a little too fast. It would not have been perfect by any means, but it's frustrating that it ended like this.

Juan Art said he was dismayed when he crossed the goal line. He said of his post-stage discussion with Sagan, "I was so shocked and angry, I didn't use very nice words." Afterwards, I tried to tell him, "Sprinting is not like that." It was difficult to have a conversation with him because he only gave me strong words."

VanArt dismissed suggestions that he believed that Sagan's bike-handling skills could get him through spaces that were perhaps not in the peloton. 'It was an odd notion, there were no gaps,' he said. 'If I were to use my elbows to create a gap, that would be completely against the rules. It's not reasonable and it shouldn't be done.'