Peter Sagan given suspended prison sentence over drunk driving incident

Seven-time Tour de France green jersey winner Peter Sagan has received a three-month suspended prison sentence for a drunk driving offence last May in Monaco, local media reported Wednesday.

Set to stop road racing at the end of the year and focus on mountain biking, Sagan is currently due to take part in his last wTour de France, starting Saturday.

Monaco Matin reported that the Tour’s most prolific points competition winner was stopped and then tested by police in May after he was seen driving recklessly while trying to park a scooter.

Sagan was previously been fined in November 2021 by a Monaco court after he had a run-in with police for breaking a COVID-19 curfew earlier that year. He later apologized for the incident.

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Sagan was not present for the hearing as he is currently in Spain preparing for the Tour de France Grand Départ in Bilbao on July 1st.

According to Monaco-Matin, the court heard that Sagan had been stopped by police on May 12th at 11:30 in the morning in the Fontvieille area of the city because he appeared to be under the influence of alcohol while trying to park his scooter.

Tested once on the spot for drink driving, he was then escorted to a local police station for a second test where it was confirmed he was over the permitted limit.

Sagan’s defence argued that the rider had been suffering from the effects of jetlag and sleeplessness after recently returning from the United States and that he had had no idea that his alcohol levels were excessively high.

However, the court handed Sagan a three-month suspended prison sentence for his offence, and also barred him from driving for the same period.

The three-time world champion issued a video apology on his Instagram channel, stating, "I'm reaching out to tell you I'm deeply sorry for screwing up during a moment of weakness.

"I would like to apologise to my family, my friends, my team, our sponsors, and everybody that supported me.

"I'm committed to learning from this mistake and becoming a better person in the future."