Fans at the Tour de France appeared to lose patience with Tadej Pogačar's dominance in this year's edition, with some booing loudly as he stormed to victory in Le Lioran on stage 10.
But Pogačar's nearest competitor Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) took no pleasure in the negative reaction from the crowd, in a video interview with Wielerflits.nl.
"I heard it as well. I think it shouldn't be acceptable in sport," Vingegaard said through his protective medical mask before stage 11. "It can be that they don't support him, but don't boo at him.
Latest Videos From
"Why do you want to come to a sporting event if you want to boo at somebody? Just cheer on people and be happy, otherwise stay at home.
"I understand that it's not nice for him. Being in the yellow jersey is the most looked at person in this race. I had it also in 2023 especially and it's not really nice."
Vingegaard, who beat Pogačar in the same finish in 2024, lost 54 seconds to him on Tuesday between the Slovenian's time bonus and a 44-second gap, but remained second place overall at 3:36.
"I'm here to race also, and I will go for stages that I think suit me the most," Vingegaard said.
Pogačar, in his post-stage press conference, showed no hard feelings to the spectators with sour attitudes.
"Cycling fans are the greatest between all the sports, so we should be happy and grateful for all fans," he said. "And to all the booers, I think they just give more boost to my teammate or they put wood on the fire."
The world’s biggest bike race deserves world-class coverage. Subscribe to Cyclingnews for unlimited access to our unrivalled reporting of the 2026 Tour de France. From Barcelona through to Paris, our experienced team will bring you breaking news, expert insight, and in-depth coverage from every stage as the battle for the yellow jersey plays out. Plus, access the Cyclingnews app to follow the action on the go! Find out more.
