. . . Sagan seems not to go clear of the favourites group with other riders very often - it's either clear alone or stalking the group waiting for the "sprint". Even with Dillier it seems to me that he benefitted from having a rider with him who both knew would be happy with 2nd, not a genuine pre-race favourite. If anything I suppose what I'm saying is that Sagan can trust in his sprint too much and never quite feel the need to make the race himself, but has actually found a lot of success when he does so.
. . . I don't know if Sagan's troubles are more related to him or to others, to his inability to marshall a group or the group's unwillingness to work with a rider who can outsprint anyone but the top flat-track boys a la Kittel etc.
Except he even outsprints them often enough they are wary of him. I'd say you've hit the nail on the head - the source of discontent. It could be just a bad case of gas, but I have a feeling this win turns a personal corner for him, what with complaint-gate being in the air and all. I have a feeling we will see Sagan's tactics and attitudes shift a little in the future.
I don't think it will take a whole lot of shift - remember who was pulling when the jacket flapped last year. He's been out there, but just not as much as might be. And, unlike some riders (I'm thinking Bouhanni), Peter actually seems to care whether people like him or not, and the peloton, by and large, do like him.
Poll
