Peter Sagan again proved his excellent positioning skills when he finished second in today's third stage of the Tour de France. Knowing that he was unlikely to win the sprint, he positioned himself on Marcel Kittel's wheel which allowed him to take second and score many points for the green jersey competition.

Peter Sagan went into today's third stage of the Tour de France knowing that he was unlikely to beat Marcel Kittel in a power sprint that suited the German perfectly. Hence, his main goal was to score as many points as possible to maintain his leads in the points competition.

Sagan used his great positioning skills to get onto Kittel's wheel in the finale and that's where he stayed all the way to the line. The Slovakian didn't even try to come around his faster rival and was pleased with the outcome of the day.

“I was hoping to win, like every day, but once again, I must admit that Marcel is very strong," he said. "He's the strongest of all sprinters. I'm not a pure sprinter. Racing against Kittel, Greipel and those guys is very difficult for me but I followed the right wheel. I pointed Kittel's wheel and I'm glad I stayed there.

"I'm happy to not have crashed because the rain made the finale dangerous. I find Coquard being very good but is he a competitor for the green jersey? We'll see but it depends mostly on what he'll manage to do over the three weeks. The Tour is always long…

"In stages like today I always race aiming to win but this second place makes me happy. Kittel is really strong, I think the fastest rider in the group, and I can't do more than stay in his wheel. For today, it's good enough.

"Second place gave me important points for the green jersey and, step by step, I'm getting my advantage. Kittel is a strong contender, Coquard also. I feel in good shape - I only hope not to finish many stages in second place and would like to soon take the win.

"I’m happy not to crash today. The Tour is long, and we’ll see how the rest goes. Last year, I had a little bit of bad luck when I crashed on the first day. I feel better this year because I haven’t crashed, and that is good for the days ahead.”