Peter Sagan says Wout Van Aert let him down "as a human being" after a print clash at the Tour de France.

Three-time world champion Peter Sagan felt Van Aert unfairly interfered with him in a group sprint on the third stage of this year's Tour in Sousa Bois, raising his arms in protest and pointing his finger as he crossed the finish line in third place behind winner Dylan Groenewegen.

The two had clashed previously at the 2020 Tour, when Sagan was demoted in the stage 11 sprint, and Van Aat expressed his anger by raising his middle finger at the Slovakian.

In an interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport (open in new tab) on Thursday, Sagan admitted that his relationship with Van Aert had cooled.

"He is a great champion. But he insulted me at the Tour and has not yet apologized," Sagan said of Van Aert.

"He has let me down as a person with this. I am waiting for him to come see me. I think he himself understands why."

"He has been very patient with me," Sagan said.

Sagan's debut season with Total Energies in 2022 was complicated by his third COVID-19 diagnosis just before the Tour de France, but his stage win at the Tour de Suisse in June made him the first rider in every season since 2010 to He maintained his record as the only rider to record at least one WorldTour victory in every season since 2010.

"I turned pro in 2010 and my first race was the Tour Down Under in Australia. When I was able to place there, I said to myself, 'Hey, I can win too,'" Sagan said. I said to myself, 'Hey, I can win too,'" Sagan said.

"I said to myself, 'I can win one race every year. I said to myself, 'I just need to win one race every year. I don't need more than that. I still feel that way."

For the second year in a row, Sagan suffered from health problems and missed the Classic season, but finished seventh at the World Championships in Wollongong. He also competed in the first Gravel World Championships in Italy and continued to race a combination of road, gravel, mountain bike, and electric mountain bike.

Sagan announced that he would start the 2023 season at the Vuelta a San Juan in January.

He will then continue his preparation for the classics with a training camp in Colombia.

Asked if Sagan could still compete in the big race, he replied: "I don't like this question. I am doing my best as always to compete at the highest level. If I didn't believe in it, I wouldn't do it."

However, Sagan refused to cite the lingering effects of three COVID-19 outbreaks as the reason for the low number of wins in the past two seasons.

"I don't like to look for excuses. I'm always there when I need to be; I've had three bad cases of COVID-19 and one with very few symptoms." But in any case, we are all affected, more or less."