Peter Sagan abandons European Championships in pain after Tour de France crash

Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) was forced to abandon the European Championship road race on Sunday, citing injuries sustained in a crash at the Tour de France.

The Slovakian reigning UCI World Champion and former European Champion pulled out of the race after 150 kilometres of the 230.4 km route in Glasgow.

Sagan cited pain in his back and hip, sharing a message on his own website where he explained: "Despite the fact I still had a lot of pain in my back and hip, I tried and gave my best today. But, I wasn’t in good shape, and, unfortunately, after 150km of racing, I felt it would be best if I stopped, as it was becoming hard.

"It was a good training for the coming weeks but I still need to fully recover from my hard crash at Le Tour de France, for the final part of the season."

Sagan added "I’d like to thank the Slovak Cycling Federation, its staff, and all my teammates for their work today."

Sagan crashed hard on a descent on stage 17 of the race in France; limping to the finish of the 65 kilometre stage in 134th place.

Following the stage, he commented: “I was braking but it was not enough. I flew in to the forest and I hit a big rock with my arse.

“For sure I’m injured but it could be worse. I think I have some scratches and I hit my muscle on my arse. I hope it’s going to be better in one or two days.”

Sagan won his National championship road race in June, meaning he has the opportunity to wear the national colours going into 2019.

>>> When did Peter Sagan last wear a standard team jersey?

In both 2016 and 2017 Sagan has come second - his elder brother, Juraj taking the win.

The younger brother's eagerness to reclaim the National title has led some to question his confidence in his abilities to take another World title at the mountainous UCI championships in Innsbruck-Tirol, Austria this September.

In sharing his disappointment at missing out at Glasgow's waterlogged race, the reigning World champion received mainly well wishes from fans who had come to watch.

Mark Cavendish (Dimension Data) was down to ride for Great Britain, but pulled out, on suggestion from his medical team that he take time to recover from a difficult season.

Cavendish will however race at the Arctic Race of Norway stage race starting August 16.

The European Championships road race was won by Italian Matteo Trentin in a bunch sprint, with Mathieu van der Poel (Netherlands) second and Wout van Aert (Belgium) third.