Vingegaard backed by French colleague after training crash: "It can indeed be very annoying"

Paul Penhoët, the fast man of Groupama-FDJ, knows exactly what it can be like during winter camps in Spain. “Of course there are a few, but when you’re riding in a group you go faster, so there are fewer,” he told RMC Sport. “It’s true that for riders who come here to Spain for a personal training session, there are more people who try to stay close, especially if it’s a well-known name, but most are very respectful.”

Spanish amateur Pedro Garcia Fernandez said he was riding behind Vingegaard when the crash happened. “Jonas crashed when he tried to drop me at the Queen’s Fountain, and when I stopped to ask how he was, he got angry with me because I had followed him. I don’t do this for my work; I’m an amateur like most people, so I don’t understand his anger as a professional,” the rider claimed.

Penhoët feels that kind of behaviour can and should be handled with more awareness. “It’s true the road belongs to everyone, but it’s important that those who do this realise we’re training — and that should be respected. But as long as they don’t put us in danger, there’s no problem. Why don’t they just ask if we mind them staying close?”

The Frenchman says he usually doesn’t mind the company of amateurs. “Some people try to sit on my wheel, others sometimes come up to chat, but where I live it’s very respectful, and from that point there’s no problem. But of course, later on — once you start training properly — you still like being in your own bubble and being alone a bit, but that really depends on the person.”

That’s why Penhoët has sympathy for Vingegaard after the crash — and the reaction that followed. “I completely understand it. If Jonas told that guy it bothered him and the guy carried on, then yes, that can be very annoying. The most respectful thing for everyone is to say at some point when something is bothering you. And I think people are smart enough to understand that.”