Top Banana: Tour de France stage 3 – Juraj Sagan

Top Banana: Tour de France stage 3 – Juraj Sagan

So often overshadowed by his younger brother, or cropped out of shot altogether, Juraj Sagan deserves more than a little of the limelight for today’s effort

Juraj Sagan Peter Sagan Racing Tour de France

Before today, who among us could have correctly drawn (and coloured in) the Slovakian flag from memory? 

Be honest. Sure, you “might” have managed it in the end, but only after being told that, no, it doesn’t have stars and a mountain on its crest (that’s Slovenia), or a blue isosceles triangle (Czech Republic) or green and red stripes (Lithuania and, frankly, they’re not even close to each other). 

On Monday however, even if you managed to watch a mere five of the six hours of televised racing, you can’t have failed to catch the national champion’s stripes of Slovakia, wrapped around the chest of the older Sagan brother. 

In fact, Juraj spent so long at the front of the peloton and in the centre of our picture that you’d have been forgiven for thinking he’d been thrown a few quid by the national tourist board. I, for one, am now considering a post-Tour mini-break to… *creaks opens atlas*… Bratislava or… Košice! 

In truth Sagan (J)’s job amounted to a whole lot more than that of patriotic product placement. The final two kilometres of the stage might have been a tap in for Peter, but he still had to arrive there in one piece to get his toe to it.

Whilst many had other ideas, that was far from a foregone conclusion, but by seldom straying far from Juraj’s hardworking wheel, the world champion could be confident of being in the right place at the time. 

And if hardworking sounds a bit disingenuous, or condescending, take a look at the results, and scroll down. Right down. 192nd on the stage, and somehow over twelve minutes down. Well done, Juraj, that was one hell of a shift. 

The Rouleur Top Banana goes to an unsung hero of each stage of the Tour de France – not the winner, not the yellow jersey – but a rider whose efforts deserve recognition

 

The post Top Banana: Tour de France stage 3 – Juraj Sagan appeared first on The world's finest cycling magazine.

Juraj Sagan Peter Sagan Racing Tour de France

READ MORE

Different rider, familiar result: Bredewold wins SD Worx's fifth Classic of the year

Different rider, familiar result: Bredewold wins SD Worx's fifth Classic of the year

Mischa Bredewold seizes the opportunity to claim the biggest win of her career at the Amstel Gold Race

Read more
Amstel magic ushers in a topsy-turvy, unpredictable week of Ardennes Classics

Amstel magic ushers in a topsy-turvy, unpredictable week of Ardennes Classics

Lidl-Trek’s Mattias Skjelmose takes shock victory at Amstel Gold Race, beating Tadej Pogačar and Remco Evenepoel in three-up sprint

Read more
Remco Evenepoel and Wout van Aert

Evenepoel, Van Aert, and the pursuit of a long-awaited victory

Neither Remco Evenepoel nor Wout van Aert is used to waiting this long for a first win of the season, but their own particular missions...

Read more
Making a statement: Can Elisa Longo Borghini's impressive form carry her to a maiden Ardennes victory?

Making a statement: Can Elisa Longo Borghini's impressive form carry her to a maiden Ardennes victory?

The Italian champion's cobbled Classics campaign may have been blighted by a heavy crash at the Tour of Flanders, but her form is seemingly as...

Read more
Amstel Gold Race Ladies Edition 2025 preview: Demi Vollering is back

Amstel Gold Race Ladies Edition 2025 preview: Demi Vollering is back

The first of the Ardennes Classics could see a reduced sprint, unless the climbers can make attacks stick

Read more

READ RIDE REPEAT

JOIN ROULEUR TODAY

Get closer to the sport than ever before.

Enjoy a digital subscription to Rouleur for just £4 per month and get access to our award-winning magazines.

SUBSCRIBE