Like so often before Peter Sagan missed out on the victory in today's second stage of the Tour de France because he was isolated in the finale. Being the big favourite, everyone was looking at the Slovakian who admitted that it is becoming harder for him to win under these circumstances.

Peter Sagan went into today's second stage of the Tour de France as the big favourite and his team dutifully controlled the race for most of the day. The Slovakian himself looked comfortable on the climbs but as it was predicted by many, he would find himself on his own in the final flat section to the finish.

With several riders being left on their own and eager to attack, Sagan faced a difficult situation and after having responded to several accelerations, he had nothing left when eventual winner Vincenzo Nibali made his move. He admitted that he is now a marked man but was pleased to take the lead in the points competition.

"Today I knew it was a good chance and I raced for a top result," he said. "It was a very hard stage and it was difficult to manage, especially in the finale.

"I placed fourth, not bad, especially because when I'm in a small group everyone looks at me and waits for me to react and nobody gives me room to move. I tried to attack, then I tried to follow othesr, but there was always someone ready to close the gap.

"It's always harder for me to move or to surprise. This is why today was ok - and then, Nibali is my friend, we raced together two years ago and I'm happy that he has won.
 
"I know there are other good chances for me and I'll look at those. Stage five on the cobblestones is intriguing, as well as other mixed stages. I want to do well on these days and take points for the green jersey.

"I'm happy that I took it today, but I perfectly know that the road to Paris it's long. I'm sure my contenders won't let me relax. In addition, there are no easy stages in the Tour de France, there's always a lot of stress in the peloton and dangers due to the high level of competitiveness. As I usually said, the win of the green jersey is something I have to build day by day.

"I'm happy with the legs I had today. It allowed me to be in the front group at the end. Moreover, I've scored points and I now lead the classification.

"Other than that, I'm very happy for Vincenzo who is a very good friend since we were team-mates before. He's been very strong today.

"Now we'll see every day how I can win a stage. Which one, I don't know. I'm interested in them all, sprinters' stages, cobblestones, etc. But I'll also try to keep collecting points everywhere.”