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.”