Peter Sagan has responded to footage of him shouldering Belgian rider Maxime Vantomme out of the way during Gent-Wevelgem by saying “I’m sorry but these things happen.”
The incident happened on the Kemmelberg climb as the eventual winner Greg Van Avermaet was attacking.
Sagan can be seen at the very bottom of the shot, moving towards Vantomme on his left before seemingly body-checking him out of the way.
For those who missed it (we did too) – A not so classy move by @petosagan #GWE pic.twitter.com/7SnN0PMKWL
— CyclingHub (@CyclingHubTV) March 30, 2017
@Vannieuwkerke @sporza hier ook duidelijk de actie van Sagan te zien zondag op de Kemmelberg! pic.twitter.com/15rsjQCsUI
— Joachim Verhaeghe (@JoachimVerhaegh) March 29, 2017
When the footage was brought to his attention, Sagan said:
I just saw the video of the contact with @MaximeVantomme at @GentWevelgem. I wasn’t aware of it. I’m sorry but these things happen in races
— Peter Sagan (@petosagan) March 30, 2017
Vantomme himself doesn’t seem too bothered, observing:
@cronoescalada That’s the life of a small cyclist.
— Maxime Vantomme (@MaximeVantomme) March 27, 2017
Tom Boonen also acknowledged the incident, but said only:
@haseveleon @FrederikPalle @NikiTerpstra @hlnsport @petosagan yep I now I was behind him
— tom boonen (@tomboonen1) March 27, 2017
Boonen did however have stronger words for Sagan’s post-race comments about team-mate Niki Terpstra.
The Slovak had observed, “It’s not sport, it’s a cheap game,” about his rival’s refusal to work with him.
Boonen responded:
@MBerreth maybe we should give napkins to everyone who wants to cry after the finish.
— tom boonen (@tomboonen1) March 26, 2017
Coffee stop turns into chat with Peter Sagan for one road.cc reader

7 thoughts on “Video: Peter Sagan barges rider during Gent-Wevelgem”
When you see the footage from
When you see the footage from the spectator on the Kemmelberg, Sagan has clearly lost his balance and bumps Vantomme as he tries to stay upright. Most would have fallen.
JohnnyRemo wrote:
I’m not sure about that.
I did notice that Sagan gets a shove back though (rightly)
What on earth is the fuss
What on earth is the fuss about? As Sagan said, these things happen in racing all the time. Nobody crashed because they are professional riders and they are used to riding in close proximity.
I’ve seen worse than that on a club run, warranting nothing more than a shouted “Sorry, mate! ” or ” Careful! “.
Looks like he deliberately
Looks like he deliberately barged him, not saying there maybe wasn’t something earlier which wasn’t seen that Sagan felt needed payback. But in saying that, he’s the WC so should be above dirty tricks…
If other cyclists see this and thnk it ok to barge people out of the way it will end badly eventually.
You don’t win races by
You don’t win races by being the gentleman. Especially in the classics!
losing your balance on a flat
losing your balance on a flat bit of tarmac, ok, that’ll be it
Clearly a deliberate ‘pay back’ barge IMHO. This time he got away with it both from a commisaire POV but also not causing a pile up, but just like kittel could end up getting a twatting for his troubles if he carries on acting like this.
Close pass 102.
Close pass 102.