The Bora-Hansgrohe leader finished fifth in the Stage 5 sprint and sits seventh in the points classification, 76 behind leader Mark Cavendish who went on to win the 160-kilometre stage from Tours to Chateauroux.
Sagan has had an eventful year thus far, having caught the coronavirus in February before going on to feature in 50 race days.
A collision with Caleb Ewan towards the tail end of Stage 3 in Pontivy was the latest hurdle the Slovakian has had to overcome, but he knows there’s still plenty of cycling ahead for him to turn things around.
“I haven’t won a stage yet, but I’ve been up there and I’m just happy to still be in the thick of the action considering what happened on Stage 3,” Sagan told Cyclingnews and La Gazzetta dello Sport.
“My knee is still causing me problems but I’m feeling better and hope I can be back to 100 per cent soon.
“I’m not worried about reaching Paris or anything, I just want to be back to my very best.
“I’m still in the hunt for the green jersey at the Tour de France. We’re only at the sixth stage, even if it feels like we’ve been racing for two weeks.
“Nothing is lost for now and we’ve still got to climb into the mountains… we’ll see what happens after the Alps and on the flat stages in the south next week.”
Despite their chequered past, Sagan was quick to offer Cavendish his congratulations after the Manxman’s success at Chateauroux.
The pair were involved in a crash at the 2017 Tour de France that saw Sagan disqualified for forcing his rival into the barriers and fracturing his shoulder in the process.
Sagan was later cleared of any wrongdoing by the UCI, but it’s believed Cavendish has not yet forgotten the incident and the purported intentions behind it.
“I offered my hand to congratulate him as I usually do to every winner,” Sagan explained.
“I’ve got nothing against him. I think what happened back in 2017 is still on his mind, not mine.
“I’ve moved on and I’m happy that he’s won."
The Tour de France continues tonight with Stage 7 and you can catch all the action on SBS and SBS On Demand at 8:30pm (AEST), with the SKODA Tour Tracker app commencing from 6:50pm (AEST).
