Peter Sagan (Total Energy) retired with 40km to go on the second stage of the Circuit de la Sarthe. When overall contenders Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo) and Benoit Cosnefrois (AG2R Citroen) upped the tempo, he was unable to keep pace with the pack and left the peloton for a short while behind a five-man breakaway.

"I had the same unusual pain in my legs and chest that I had a month ago," he said. 'I don't know what is wrong. I will have to undergo further tests."

"I am not sure what is wrong with me.

The opening weekend of the Tour des Alpes Maritimes et du Var and Belgium got off to a tough start to the season when Sagan developed COVID-19 for the second time in the winter. The stage was won in a group sprint by Tim Merlier (Alpecin-Phoenix), but Sagan was unable to start the following day due to illness.

He recovered to finish fifth in Milan-Torino, but became ill again in Belgium and abandoned Ghent-Wevelgem.

"The Sarthe circuit was supposed to help him get back into a rhythm. In this race, even if he wasn't at 100% physical capacity, he should have no problem keeping up with the pack." [As far as I know, this is the first time he has abandoned a stage race other than by crashing. Paris-Roubaix is his next race. Whether he will compete or not remains to be seen, but seeing how riders like Pedersen are getting better here, it's going to be difficult for Peter to get back into shape to challenge him."