From roadsides to team hotels to sign-ons, over the years, it's often been proven that cycling stars and their encounters with fans are not always a match made in heaven. The latest proof of that affected none other than current men's number 1 racer, Tadej Pogačar.
During a recent training ride, the UAE Team Emirates-XRG rider said he was subject to some verbal abuse after asking a fan to wait for a few minutes for an autograph.
Writing on his Strava account, Pogačar recounted that he had been yelled at by the fan's irate partner, as well as given a clear physical message about what the fan thought of his request being delayed.
“An honest question to all the fans,” Pogacar said in his statement about what had happened during his 132km training ride in Valencia, Spain.
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“If you find me in conversation with someone and you ask me for a photo, I ask you to give me two minutes to finish talk. Do you wait 2 minutes or show me middle finger and take off angry? (And have your partner yelling at me?),” said Pogačar.
“Long day ended with losing biggest fan, btw I love you all. Heck I even like the fans that are not my supporters but don’t have the attitude of spoiled teenager,” added Pogačar.
The question of fans possibly overstepping the mark when riders are training or off their bikes and in a public setting has become a bigger part of the recent news cycle.
Earlier this year, Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) suffered an accident when he was followed by a fan on a climb.
Vingegaard has since had to cancel his participation in his opening race of the season, the UAE Tour, citing his injuries and subsequent illness.
Stopping selfie and autograph requests before they are made also remains an option, of course.
Last year, after the Tour de France, where he was logically the centre of attention, Pogačar posted a photo of himself and partner Urška Žigart (AG Insurance-Soudal) during a training ride, with the four-times Tour winner wearing a specially designed maillot with 'Do not disturb' and 'No photography' motifs.
After the latest incident, perhaps Pogačar will consider pulling the same jersey out of his wardrobe again for his next training ride.
