The UCI Commission relegated Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) to the back of the peloton after a dangerous move in the sprint contest on stage 11 of the Tour de France (open in new tab).

Sagan crossed the line in second place behind Caleb Yuan (Lotto Soudal) in Poitiers, but only after he shouldered Wout Van Aert (open in new tab) (Yumbo Visma) in a line battle. Sagan ran alongside the barrier and used his shoulder to push the Belgian out of the way and make room to run to the line.

According to Article 2.12.007, paragraph 5.1 of the UCI Road Racing Rules (opens in new tab), "Any deviation from the chosen line that obstructs or endangers another rider or an irregular sprint (including pulling on another rider's jersey or saddle, intimidation or threat, head, knee, elbow, shoulder or hand (including blows to the head, knees, elbows, shoulders, hands, etc.). A fine of CHF 500, a point deduction equal to 25% of the points earned by the stage winner, and demotion to last place.

The Tour's UCI Commissaires team relegated Sagan to 85th place on the stage and deducted a quarter of the points earned at the finish (30 points) and the stage winner Euan's points (13 points rounded up to 12.5 points).

Sam Bennett (Deceuninck-Quick Step) moved into second place behind Ewan with 17 points earned in the intermediate sprint and 30 in the finish. Sagan lost 13 points earned in the intermediate sprint, bringing his total to 175 points.

Sagan, a three-time world champion, said he only avoided the barriers in his attempt to overtake Van Aert and join the race for the win.

"I had speed today and tried to ride on the right side in the sprint. I passed one rider easily, but then it got very narrow. As a result, I was relegated. This cost me a lot of points, but I haven't given up the fight for the green jersey yet."

Bora-Hansgrohe sportif Enrico Poitske accepted the decision after the stage, saying that Sagan had not intended to hit Van Aert hard.

"Peter was in a good position in the sprint. He was blocked at times and saw the possibility of crossing the barrier in the last few meters to take the stage win. He came into heavy contact with Van Aert and eventually he was demoted."

VanArt, meanwhile, was adamant that Sagan did the wrong thing and said he was scared. And he said that sprinting is dangerous enough without adding rider-to-rider contact.

"In fact, I think something like that should not have been done. In my opinion, I sprinted in a perfectly straight line and started completely right at the border. 'He tried to make room for him. I think it was dangerous enough already and the moment I felt something I was really surprised and shocked. I was really scared because I was trying my maximum.

"At the first moment I was so shocked and surprised that I was so angry that I couldn't really use nice words against him. I then tried to tell him that what he was doing was something he really shouldn't have done and that I didn't like it, but all I got back were other strong words.

The battle for the green continues, but the only true sprint finish left in the Tour is arguably the final stage to Paris. However, with nine road stages remaining, there are still 180 points needed to take the green jersey.