Peter Sagan (opens in new tab) may have started too early into a headwind in Monday's Tour de France (opens in new tab) stage 3, a group sprint in Sisteron, but the Beulah Hansgrohe (opens in new tab) rider could console himself with a podium finish and the green points jersey awarded to the points leader for the 126th time in his career.

"It was a pretty nasty sprint. There was a terrible headwind for the last three or four kilometers and everyone got scattered all over the place. The riders were coming forward and dropping back and it was confusing," Sagan said after finishing in Cisteron. [Thanks to Daniel's (Oss) leadout, I was able to get a good position, but I think I started my sprint too early and was passed from the right about 150 meters from the finish.

"Still, I am happy with this green jersey. Still, I am happy to wear this green jersey and I will do my best to keep it until Paris," said the Slovakian sprinter.

When Sagan promised to keep the jersey until Paris, it was a promise he showed he could keep. Thanks to his consistency in sprint finishes and his ability to pass with the lead group on small climbs, and often in the breakaway, as he did on the first stage of this year's Tour, Sagan has proven to be unbeatable in the competition.

Sagan's 126 days of green jersey wins do not include days when he has worn the "reserved" jersey for leaders leading the points chase, as he has done the past two days.

In 2012, Sagan's first Tour de France appearance, he took the jersey from prologue winner Fabian Cancellara after winning the first stage to begin his Tour de France sprint domination. In 2013, he did the same, winning only one stage, but he took the green jersey from Marcel Kittel on stage 2 and held on to it until the end to win the points title by 97 points over Mark Cavendish. He took the points title by 97 points over Mark Cavendish.

In 2014, Sagan wore the green jersey on every stage except the first, which Kittel won, and he finished 149 points ahead of Alexander Kristoff without winning a single stage. He was only at the top of the points standings, but still 76 points ahead of Greipel.

In 2016, Sagan won three stages and took the points prize by a huge margin of 242 points over Kittel.

Since his first Tour de France appearance, the only time Sagan failed to win the green jersey was when he was ejected from the 2017 Tour de France by the race jury for colliding with Cavendish, causing a dramatic crash.

He returned for the 2018 Tour de France, where he achieved 100 days of green, won three stages, and led the points standings on all but the first stage, which was won by Fernando Gaviria. Again, he won the overall by 231 points over Christophe.

Last season, Sagan's dominance slipped slightly, with three-time stage winner Caleb Yuan closing in on him by 68 points.

Yuan may change his mind about chasing the green jersey this season after winning stage 3 (open in new tab).

"It's not a competition for pure sprinters because of the points structure," Ewan said. 'I haven't seen a pure sprinter win in the last few years. Not only Sagan, but also Van Aert, who can climb and sprint. On the days I can't finish, they will finish and get maximum points. Even on the days I can win, they are always in the top 5 or 10, always getting points. "

Sagan was supposed to be the first to race in the Giro d'Italia this year. Had the race been held at the normal time, one of his rivals might have had an advantage in the points standings. However, the COVID-19 pandemic shuffled the entire calendar and assigned the races to three months that could have ended at any time, so the Tour de France was held first.

Former green jersey winner Sean Kelly told Cycling News (opens in new tab) that Sagan may have difficulty winning the overall points prize this year given the mountainous route.

"For the sprinters, and for Sagan, this year's route could be a difficult one. 'There aren't a lot of chances, so someone on GC may have to fight for the green jersey.'