Pogačar winks after bizarre encounter: “A long day ended with losing my biggest fan”

First, Vingegaard. The Visma | Lease a Bike leader was recently on a training camp in Spain, where an amateur reportedly latched onto his wheel. The Dane then crashed. Vingegaard is said to have reacted angrily, after which Pedro Garcia Fernandez — the rider who followed him — shared his version of events on Strava.

“You can be professional, but you can also stay humble,” he began. “Jonas crashed when he tried to drop me at the Queen’s Fountain, and when I stopped to ask if he was okay, he got angry with me for following him. He went hard to get rid of me and ended up on the ground.”

The incident prompted a response from Visma | Lease a Bike. “In general, we as a team would like to urge cycling enthusiasts to always put safety first. For your own safety and the safety of others, we ask that you give cyclists room to train and allow them as much rest and space as possible,” the Dutch team said.

On Strava, Pogačar also reported a striking encounter on Wednesday. The world champion titled his activity: “Honest question to all fans.” Then came the story. “If you see me talking to someone and you ask me for a photo, I ask you to give me two minutes to finish the conversation. Do you wait those two minutes, or do you give me the middle finger and walk off angry? (And then have your partner shout at me?)”

A bizarre run-in for “Pogi”, though the Slovenian could still see the humour in it. “A long day ended with losing my biggest fan,” he joked, while still making room for appreciation. “I love you all. In fact, I even like the fans who aren’t fans of me — as long as they don’t behave like spoiled teenagers.”