Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/844884
21 Sport TOUR DE FRANCE TENNIS maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 5 JULY 2017 Peter Sagan disqualified from the 2017 Tour de France WORLD champion Peter Sagan has been disqualified from the 2017 Tour de France for causing the crash which looks to have ended Mark Cavendish's race. Sagan was initially docked 30 seconds after nudging Caven- dish into the barriers at the end of stage four, which was won by Frenchman Arnaud Demare in Vittel. But the race jury looked at the incident again and announced that the Slovakian's partici- pation - and his bid to win a record-equalling sixth straight green jersey - is over. "We have decided to disqual- ify Peter Sagan from Tour de France 2017 as he endangered some of his colleagues seriously in the final metres of the sprint which happened in Vittel," said race jury president Philippe Marien. Cavendish was taken to hos- pital with his right arm in a sling after taking a nudge from Sagan and falling into the barri- ers, causing other riders to fall behind him. Cavendish gave a grim prog- nosis for his chances of con- tinuing, saying he had injured the shoulder he separated in the crash that ended his 2014 Tour on the opening stage in Harrogate. "Injury-wise I'm going to go and get it checked out. I defi- nitely need stitches in this fin- ger, it's bleeding a lot," he said. "And the shoulder, there's something to do with that pre- vious shoulder that I did in Har- rogate - it's just sat backwards. I don't know if I've snapped the fake ligament or what - I'm go- ing to go and get it looked at. "I'm not a doctor, I don't know what, but I'm not optimistic anyway." The incident happened 120 metres from the line in Vit- tel as a reduced bunch fought for position after a crash a few hundred metres earlier had sent Team Sky's Geraint Thomas to the deck in the race leaders' yel- low jersey. Thomas was fine to continue, losing no time as the incidents occurred inside the final three kilometres, but Cavendish was not so lucky. The initial stage results posted on the Tour's website showed Sagan had been docked 30 sec- onds and 80 points but Dimen- sion Data contested that deci- sion, with sports director Roger Hammond calling for Sagan to be sent home. Cavendish, a 30-time Tour stage winner, fought for three months to overcome the Ep- stein-Barr virus just to make it to the start line in Dusseldorf at the weekend, and if his exit is confirmed it will be a bitter blow. "My heart has gone to my feet," Hammond said. "These riders are like my children. That guy has worked so hard to be here." Cavendish was likewise unim- pressed with Sagan's bike-han- dling, saying Sagan elbowed him. "I was just following Demare and Sagan came over," he said. "I get on with Peter well but I don't get the elbow - I'm not a fan of him putting his elbow in me like that. "A crash is a crash, I'd just like to know about the elbow really." Sagan visited the Dimension Data bus after the finish to check on Cavendish. "Mark was coming pretty fast from the back," the Slovakian said. "I tried but didn't have time to react to go left. He came to me and I had to defend." Asked if he had apologised for the crash, he added: "For sure, because it's not nice to crash like that." Trek-Segafredo's John Degen- kolb had to take evasive action to avoid riding straight into the stricken Manxman, and his bunny hop caused both him and UAE Team Emirates' Ben Swift to hit the deck. "You're just sprinting follow- ing the wheel and then all of sudden Degenkolb flicked to try and miss Cavendish who was on the floor, and we both had nowhere to go. I just went fly- ing, me and Degenkolb," Swift said. "I must have gone 10ft in the air...I hurt my knee a little bit and my shoulder, but we'll see." The 27-year-old Sagan, one of cycling's most marketable characters, has won the points leaders' green jersey every year he has participated in the Tour, starting in 2012. His exit will now set up a fasci- nating battle among the sprint- ers to succeed him, but not one Cavendish is likely to be part of. Luck was on the side of Thom- as and Team Sky however, as the race leader was quickly on his feet after the first of the two crashes, while Froome was held up behind but not involved. "I'm all right," Thomas said. "It was just a crash in front of me and I had nowhere to go. "Luckily I took off most of the speed. I think Chris Froome managed to get round it and he's okay." Thomas continues to lead from Froome by 12 seconds, with Michael Matthews of Team Sunweb on the same time in third place. It was a first Tour stage win for FDJ's Demare, with Katu- sha-Alpecin's Alexander Krist- off second, Lotto-Soudal's Andre Greipel third, and local boy Nacer Bouhanni of Cofidis down in fourth. Peter Sagan has been disqualified from the Tour Djokovic into second round as Klizan retires injured IT was a short and sweet intro- duction to this year's Wimble- don for Novak Djokovic who breezed into the second round when opponent Martin Klizan retired injured after the first set of their match on Tuesday. Djokovic, a three times Wim- bledon champion, had taken the first set 6-3 before Klizan called the trainer onto Centre Court to treat a leg injury. While the 47th-ranked Slova- kian emerged for the second set, he lasted just two more games before calling it quits. There had been little to sepa- rate the players in the first set, yet Klizan was in clear discom- fort after that and was immedi- ately broken by Djokovic, who then held before the Slovakian limped towards the umpire to end the encounter. For Djokovic, who has endured a miserable year in which he has relinquished his number one ranking as well as his grip on all four majors, it was an easy start to the tournament, although he had some sympathy for Klizan. "It was great to be back on Centre Court. It's the cradle of the tennis history and it's a spe- cial feeling to walk on. It brings back many memories. It's nice to be back but you never like to end a match this way," Djokovic said. "He had issues walking on to court. I tried to focus on my game plan, I was serving well and when it mattered I made a break. But you could see he wasn't moving. I'm sure he didn't want to finish this way. It's Wimbledon and it's a big tournament. I wish him all the best." John McEnroe, who was com- mentating for the BBC, was more scathing about players be- ing able to begin matches when carrying injuries. "There's got to be a rule for guys who come out clearly not giving or able to give 100 per- cent. It's no good for anyone," he said. His point seemed to be rein- forced when Roger Federer's opponent Alexandr Dolgopolov retired injured midway through the second set in the very next match on Centre Court. Second seed Djokovic will play Czech Adam Pavlasek in the next round. Novak Djokovic