VITTEL, July 5 — World champion Peter Sagan accepted defeat today in his bid to have his Tour de France disqualification overturned.

Speaking to journalists this morning, Sagan said he didn’t agree with the sanction but had accepted it.

The 27-year-old Slovak was kicked off the Tour yesterday for having elbowed Mark Cavendish into the metal barriers during the sprint finish to the Tour’s fourth stage.

Cavendish crashed hard and was taken to hospital where he was diagnosed with a broken shoulder blade, ending his own Tour participation.

"I can only accept the decision of the jury, but I disagree. I don’t think I’ve done anything wrong in the sprint,” said Sagan, who was reading a statement.

The Tour’s race commission disagreed, though, and had disqualified him for having "endangered some of his colleagues seriously”.

Cavendish had questioned not why Sagan swerved towards him during the sprint finish, but why he had jutted out an elbow, sending the Briton into the railings.

"I was a little bit confused with the elbow, that’s something I’d like to speak to him about,” said the 32-year-old winner of 30 Tour stages.

Today’s fifth stage starts in Vittel and runs for 160.5km to the first uphill mountain finish of this year’s race at La Planche des Belles Filles. — AFP