Tadej Pogačar is one of a number of riders who have complained of incidents with other cyclists while they're been getting their pre-season training in. And now his UAE Team Emirates XRG squad has put in place security measures to protect him.
A motorbike rider is being placed behind Pogačar, and other riders, when he is out training. The team says it ensures he gets a bit of space and creates a physical block between him and members of the public on bikes to ensure the groups don't become too big as more riders join.
The team says some of the amateur or leisure riders are just looking for footage or reactions from the pro riders to generate views on their social media accounts.
It comes after Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) crashed recently, delaying the start of his season, while he was being pursued, or followed, down a descent in Spain. Video was taken of him by a following rider and several riders gave their version of accounts on a Strava.
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Pogačar himself recently complained a cyclist gave him the middle finger after being asked to wait for a moment for a photo opportunity until he finished a conversation.
Joxean Fernández, sports manager of the UAE Team Emirates , told AS of a small number fans acting in an intrusive way.
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“This is about moments and getting more views, something that's very fashionable these days," he said. He added cyclists often recorded the pros, then captured a reaction from them, sometimes as the pro riders was appealing to them on safety grounds on the roads.
“An example of situations we've had during our training camp in Alicante: we had a motorcycle to protect Tadej, because we ride in small groups," he said of the team's decision to add a motorbike rider for the protection of the Tour de France and world champion.
"If you have groups of 20, the cars behind can't overtake them. So we ride in groups of eight, but if cyclists join in, they become too large. Ultimately, who decides whether they can join or that we have to keep groups of eight to avoid this?
"Who has the right criteria to ensure we don't bother the cyclists or the cars, and that everyone feels respected? Now, what we do is put a motorcycle behind Tadej to ensure that the small group is respected and that cars can pass without creating a traffic jam.
"I've seen some very complicated situations where many cyclists, caught up in the excitement, start recording in the middle of the road. If at that moment a cyclist gives you a rude response because you see a car coming towards you... The one who probably comes out looking bad is the one who gives that response, when the context is completely different.
"What we see is what we perceive as right or wrong. Sometimes we don't consider the full context of the situation. I'm the first to defend the fans, and I'm the first to stop every day to take photos, to talk to anyone. But sometimes you have to understand that you don't go to someone's workplace to film them doing things.
"And that space here is on the bike, even though for them it's their leisure time, you have to understand that for the cyclist it's their work time. It's difficult to find a balance.”
