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

Strength, faith and resilience: Egan Bernal is back at the Giro d’Italia

Strength, faith and resilience: Egan Bernal is back at the Giro d’Italia

The Colombian rider’s performance on the first summit finish has announced him as a serious general classification contender once more, three years on from the...

Leggi di più
A tale of two tactics: The first summit finish of the Giro brings more questions than answers about pink jersey battle

A tale of two tactics: The first summit finish of the Giro brings more questions than answers about pink jersey battle

Red Bull pace all day only for Primož Roglič to be out of position and lose time to Juan Ayuso

Leggi di più
Giro d'Italia 2025 stage eight preview: An up and down day in Le Marche

Giro d'Italia 2025 stage eight preview: An up and down day in Le Marche

A tricky Tirreno-Adriatico style stage offers an opportunity for a breakaway to take victory

Leggi di più
Neutralisations, protests and lopsided lead-outs - It's bedlam at the Giro d'Italia

Neutralisations, protests and lopsided lead-outs - It's bedlam at the Giro d'Italia

Inside the craziest day of the race so far on a rain-soaked stage six around Naples

Leggi di più
How does the loss of Jai Hindley affect Primož Roglič's Giro d'Italia bid?

How does the loss of Jai Hindley affect Primož Roglič's Giro d'Italia bid?

Red Bull rider crashes out of the Giro d’Italia on stage six

Leggi di più
Peloton at the 2024 Giro d'Italia

Giro d'Italia 2025 stage seven preview: The first summit finish

The first of two proper mountain top finishes in this Giro will be the first serious test of the general classification contenders

Leggi di più

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