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news
Sagan Cavendish TdF 2017 Stage 4 crash.JPGCommissaire who threw Peter Sagan out of Tour de France calls for 'video referees' for cycling
The official who headed the UCI jury that disqualified Peter Sagan from the Tour de France has suggested that cycling needs commissaires dedicated to examining video footage of sprint finishes.
“The less you see me on TV, the better my Tour,” Philippe Mariën told Het Nieuwsblad when describing his role. “I did not really succeed,” he concluded.
Mariën was centre-stage when the decision was taken to disqualify Sagan after the race jury ruled that he had endangered other riders in the sprint at the end of Stage 4 in Vittel.
It was initially reported that Sagan had been relegated, but the Belgian said that was not the case.
"The jury had only discussed that as a possibility in private. It had never been announced. We only made one decision."
He believes that in future the Tour de France needs a dedicated video referee to rule on sprint finishes at the time. Travelling with the race, the current jury only convenes afterwards.
"There must be a video referee, just like in football, who should be in front of the TV during the sprint to concentrate only on the sprint itself. Then we can decide immediately and not look at the images later."
He added: “The UCI promised me to make a job of it.”
Alex has written for more cricket publications than the rest of the road.cc team combined. Despite the apparent evidence of this picture, he doesn't especially like cake.
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9 comments
It would add to their credibility if such referees were from somewhere more neutral than the host country.
Maybe they should try following their rules. They didn't even let Sagan have his say. Lousy tour.
"Lousy tour"?
which one were you watching, it was a great tour.
Tours are better with Sagan in.
It's hard to take the Tour seriously when the judges are picking favorites. French rides not holding their line while sprinting to the finish get ignored, Sagan gets tossed, a rider hits another and the judges do nothing. It was still fun to watch, but it wasn't a legit race.
It boggles the mind. Good on him for admitting a mistake was made and calling for a better process so as to avoid another in the future.
Did he admit a mistake had been made?
Surely 'I did not really succeed' is jobspeak for 'I fucked up'.
I missed the bit where he admitted the wrong decision was made. It appears he is just admitting to the period of time taken to reach a decision was to long...