Stage victor Britain’s Mark Cavendish celebrates on the podium after the fourteenth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 208.5 kilometers (129.2 miles) with start in Montelimar and finish in Villars-les-Dombes, France, Saturday, July 16, 2016.
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Sagan, a Slovakian with the Tinkoff team, edged Alexander Kristoff of Norway at the line.
It turned into a battle between Sagan and Kristoff, with Norwegian Sondre Holst Enger taking third.
Chris Froome believes the strength of Team Sky in the Tour de France must be sapping at the morale of his rivals for the yellow jersey.
There are those who feel that Froome has no real rivals in this Tour because of the lack of attacks from the likes of Quintana, but the race leader has described that as “rubbish”.
“I want to thank my team for the work they did all day”.
“I was not waiting for the results, I thought I was second until they came and told me I had won”, Sagan said.
Among the many highlights so far for the Team, the stand-out wins on Stage One, Three, Six and 14 by Cavendish and the Stage Seven win by Steve Cummings were exceptional.
Drug-testers have visited Team Sky hotels 13 times since the race started 17 days ago, with Froome singled out more than his team-mates.
Cavendish excels more as a sprinter in cycling, which helps him win individual stages of road races. “I said at the beginning of the race I wanted to be at my best in the third week and I think I’m on track for that”.
The Briton leads Dutchman Bauke Mollema (Trek-Segafredo) by 1:47 and compatriot Adam Yates (Orica-Bike Exchange) by 2:45.
But after Tuesday’s rest day the riders face four gruelling stages in the Alps and everything could yet change.
The Portuguese was gobbled up by the peloton just 4km from the end and it was Sagan who prevailed after a huge cluster of riders jostled for position in the Tour’s first visit to the Swiss capital.
Last year, Froome entered the final week with a 3:10 lead over Quintana, and the Colombian threatened a comeback in the final mountain stage to l’Alpe d’Huez, but it was too little, too late.
Cavendish sitting out the final stage on the Champs-Élysées means he will not contest the stage in Paris where he won four years in a row between 2009 and 2012.
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Former world champion Rui Costa then jumped away from the pack but the Portuguese was reined in with 5km left in the streets of Bern.
