Peter Sagan’s TotalEnergies team cancels Tour de France press conference
The Slovakian received a three-month suspended sentence
With the Tour de France starting on Saturday, most of the teams are having their pre-race press conferences…except the French squad, Team TotalEnergies. It might have something to do with the news that Peter Sagan received a three-month suspended sentence for drunk driving.
Monaco-Matin reported on Wednesday that Peter Sagan was sentenced for driving under the influence in May. The former world champion was parking his scooter erratically in the morning when the police were notified. They promptly tested his blood alcohol level. At 11:35 a.m.the results showed that he was over the legal limit in Monaco.
Not the first time Peter Sagan was drunk driving
Sagan was pulled over previously for driving under the influence in Monaco.
In April of 2021, he and his brother were out after the COVID-19-imposed curfew, and police discovered that Sagan was under the influence.
Peter Sagan fined for punching police officer and breaking COVID-19 curfew
Sagan blames jet lag
According to the judge on Wednesday, Sagan exhibited “risky behavior, even dangerous” on the road. He added that Sagan told police that he had been to several nightclubs and went to bed at 3 a.m. His lawer, Thomas Giaccardi, said that Sagan was exhausted at the time. “As he was very tired due to jet lag and only six hours of sleep, he did not think he had such a high blood alcohol level,” Giaccardi told the court. This is the 33-year-old’s final year on the WorldTour circuit. In 2024, he will focus on mountain biking with the Paris Olympics as his main goal.
Since the sentence is suspended, Sagan will not be serving time in prison and is expected to start the Tour de France on Saturday. Stage 1 is a hilly race in Bilbao, Spain.
