Originally Posted by
Giacomo 1
I never really thought of Sagan as a pure sprinter like Cav is. He is missing that kind if speed at the line, but the green jersey is given for the rider who is the most consistent sprinter, not always the fastest. Sagan's strength lies in his ability to get over the hills and mountains to catch the middle sprint points while the other sprinters are dying over the mountains. That's how you win the green jersey.
With the sprinters field growing like it is, it's going to be tough for Sagan to win many more pure sprints IMHO.
If I remember right, didn't Farrar beat Sagan twice in the Tour of California?
Once for the win, and once for 2nd behind Jens Voight. Sagan still won 2 stages.
The green jersey and a stage win would make most sprinters more than happy with their Tour's work, especially over a tough course like this year's. Sagan doesn't seem to have quite the top end speed of the pure sprinters like Cav, Kittel and Greipel, but he can win races. The stage win he did get this year was excellent tactics by his team, so that'll always be a weapon in their box as long as the Tour keep including stages with one or two big climbs, but still flat enough to be kept together. And that's presuming he doesn't do a Kelly/Jalabert, shed a bit of weight, and start contesting for yellow jerseys as well as green.
If anything, it's Cavendish who'll be disappointed after the Tour; 2 stages is his worst July yet, (even last year, when he was riding "for" Wiggins, he won 3), and for the first time there's someone in the field who can genuinely beat him in a balls-out speed contest.
Sagan might see stages 2 and 3 as "ones that got away." The course was lumpy enough, and the big sprinters were missing, but they let Bakelants get off the front and stay away, and let Gerrans pip him at the line. That might have been part of their motivation to make sure and get it right into Albi.