ANGERS, France -- Tour de France leader and world champion Peter Sagan has weighed in once more with his strong concerns for rider safety. But this time, he has called for the world body of cycling to introduce a law change that would allow for less congested and dangerous finales.
Sagan (Tinkoff), who kept the yellow leader's jersey by finishing fourth in Monday's 223.5km Stage 3 from Granville to Angers in Brittany behind winner British sprinter Mark Cavendish (Dimension Data), believes the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) should look at neutralising stages that are settled in bunch sprints several kilometres before the finish.
He believes if the times for overall classification were taken before the race neared the finish, it would stop those vying for overall victory from getting involved in the sprints as they have been to avoid the crashes or splits that can happen and lead to costly time losses.
"It very dangerous. That is how I see things," Sagan said after the stage. Sagan is still first overall, eight seconds ahead of second-placed Frenchman Julian Alaphilippe (FDJ) and 10 seconds up on Spaniard Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) in third.
At 14 seconds are all but four overall favourites, led by Briton Chris Froome (Sky) in fourth. Further back are Italy's Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) in 28th overall at 25 seconds, Frenchman Thibaut Pinot (FDJ) in 31st at the same time, Spaniard Alberto Contador (Tinkoff) in 57th at 1:02 and Australian Richie Porte (BMC), who is 77th at 1:59.
Sagan's call to the UCI follows his outburst on Sunday, when he won Stage 2 and took the leader's yellow jersey. He spoke of the safety hazards that come with riders in the peloton not respecting each other.
"It's very hard to enjoy racing on the bike," Sagan said Sunday. "When I did my first Tour de France, it was a different race. Now everyone rides as if they don't care about life. Last year, it was very bad, and this year is very bad, but it's the riders' decision how they ride."
"You never know if you'll be able to continue in the race. Today, I'm in yellow, but maybe tomorrow I go home; this is the Tour de France," he added. "In this moment, I'm not an important rider in peloton [to change things]. Nobody cares. It's as if they lost their brains. I don't know what has happened. There are stupid crashes.
"Before there was respect: When someone did something, they threw bottles at him or beat him with a pump, but cycling has lost this."
'The stakes are now so high in cycling'
Sagan's argument earned much agreement from Cavendish. The "Manx Missile," whose Tour stage win took his tally to 28 overall in the Tour and tied him with the second-best all-time mark with French icon Bernard Hinault, also believes there has been a change in mindset among riders.
"The mentality has a changed a little bit. Some guys -- not all 'GC guys' -- in the past, they used to all go to the back and roll in in a gentleman's kind of agreement," Cavendish said Sunday. "Now, there are some riders who actively want to be ahead of the split. It's not just that they don't want to get caught out, so they don't want to be behind the split. They try to be up there hoping there is a split so they can get a few seconds. This is nothing to do with the course really, you know. It's more the riders."
"He has got a point, but the problem is that the stakes are now so high in cycling. There is more money going," Cavendish added about Sagan's comments. "He earns so much money that guys want to do so well to emulate how much money he earns. So they are going to try and take risks to do that.
"The difference between guys who win and lose is evident. The guys who win understand it. They have respect for each other. They are the first to congratulate the other guys who win. It's the ones who never win anything ... not all of them, it's not fair to bracket every rider, but generically a lot of guys don't win, and they kind of feel bitterness toward the guys who win. Instead of appreciating what they have done, they kind of resent it."
'It's getting more dangerous in the bunch'
Adam Hansen, an Australian delegate of the Cyclistes Professionnels Associé, said the organization has asked the UCI to consider timing general classification in sprint stages with three kilometres to go.
Hansen, 35, who is racing in a record 15th-consecutive three-week grand tour here, said Sagan's remarks on Sunday were correct, but he added that the issue of respect among the riders was a responsibility for the riders to resolve and not the CPA.
Hansen, who is not the CPA delegate at the Tour (those delegates are ex-French cyclists Jan Xavier and Pascal Chanteur), said the CPA believes "it would be a bit safer if the times were taken at three kilometres to go [in a stage], not up until the final sprint.
"That way the sprinters' can sprint and do their messy stuff," Hansen explained, "and 'GC' guys can relax and get out of the sprinters' teams' way."
Hansen added that the CPA's proposed rule change on timing overall classification times in sprint stages would reduce stress leading up to and during a sprint finish. The proposed change is part of a CPA security plan that has been submitted to the UCI that also includes proposed measures for better security overall in races.
Asked of Sagan's concerns about rider behaviour, Hansen told ESPN: "It is true what he says, that's for sure. It's getting more dangerous in the bunch. On the other side, there is more pressure from sponsors, the teams are getting stronger, teams are getting smarter. I think the level between the riders is becoming closer, so this doesn't help, either."
Hansen also cited the last stage of this year's Giro d'Italia that he raced in. The race jury took times at the end of the second last eight-kilometre finishing circuit due to wet conditions.
"A lot of guys sat up and said, 'We don't want to be in that fight. We don't want to risk our lives just to get the same time.'" Hansen said. "We got the same time, so we were out of the race and let the sprinters race [for the stage win] and that was a spectacular finish.
"That is one of the things riders are pushing for -- to have the rules changed so it is safe for the riders. Otherwise, we sort of get forced to race like idiots."
Hansen said the race jury's call for the Giro final was backed by the majority of riders there from a poll taken through a new online communication system from the CPA. He said results have been used to bolster the CPA's UCI submission on race safety.
"I think 96 percent of the Giro riders agreed [neutralising the stage] was the right decision," Hansen said. "It's definitely what the riders want, but trying to get the UCI to change the rules is something different."