Tour de France 2014

Can anyone help with some insight on why Sagan doesn't need the same kind of lead out train as other sprinters? Obvs he doesn't seem to win as many as Kittel/Gripel but he's always in the mix but often flying solo. How does he manage it? Tactics plus strength and youth, or is there another component I'm missing?

In a classic sprint stage, all things equal and assuming Cannondale can provide him with an effective train, he'd always be beaten by Kittel et al. The best he can hope for is to grab a rare, opportunistic win. He can sprint like a beast, but he's not a sprinter.

Cannondale protect him to a point, then he latches on to whoever he thinks can get him as far up the finishing order as possible.

His opportunities to win stages come when the lumps are big enough to kill off the sprinters, but the finish is flat enough for him to use his sprinting power to beat the GC contenders. I was surprised he didn't win stage 2.