Jonas Vingegaard said his training crash while being followed by an amateur rider down a descent “wasn’t that bad”, but stressed fans need to “accept that we’re at work” and “give a little more privacy” when sharing the road.
The Dane’s comments came in an interview with TV2, Denmark’s government-owned broadcaster, Vingegaard speaking about the incident for the first time.
It happened at the start of the year in Spain, an amateur rider following him down a descent when he crashed and suffered minor injuries. The incident sparked discussion about how fans should behave when sharing the road with pro riders training.
Vingegaard’s great rival Tadej Pogačar has also spoken extensively about the attitude of some fans who spot him training, the world champion even occasionally donning a jersey with the message ‘do not disturb’.
Speaking with TV2, Vingegaard said he is happy to take pictures with fans but suggested people “have to accept” pro riders out training “are at work”.
“It’s probably a big deal for them to see a rider like Tadej or me,” he said. “You have to accept that we’re at work. Rather than either sitting on top of us or next to us and talking to us. We’re working, and I might be doing an interval, and then I don’t have the time or energy to sit and talk. That way, I think they should give a little more privacy.”
Vingegaard also admitted that he has questioned what the future of training on open roads is if things continue to get worse.
“At the time, when the crash had just happened, I also thought that if it continues like this, and it gets worse and worse, then that’s what it’s going to end up with,” he said. “Either the riders have a motorcycle or some kind of personal bodyguard, which means that people can’t get close at all. Then it’s even worse. We have to take care of ourselves.
“But it’s actually not so much when I’m cycling at home in Denmark, because there aren’t that many people cycling around Glyngøre. But it’s more when you’re abroad, because there are many people following you. I think it’s okay for people to come up and ask for a picture and let us do the training that we have to do. That’s my job.
“Even though you might think I shouldn’t, I still have to be considerate of the person behind me. If I have to brake hard, I risk him riding into me from behind. If I have snot in my nose, I can’t just blow my nose because I risk hitting him. So I have to be considerate of someone all the time. There’s a reason I’m out riding alone. It’s because I want to ride alone.
“Maybe he knows who I am, but we don’t know each other. And the fact that he’s sitting in my wheel, I think is a bit borderline. I don’t just follow someone on the street when I’m out walking. So for me it seems a bit borderline that people follow me in that way.”
The fan who was following Vingegaard at the time of the crash went on Strava and claimed the Dane was “trying to drop me” and “got angry with me for staying on his wheel while going downhill”.
Vingegaard agreed with this assessment and said the post described the incident “very well”.
“That’s exactly what happened. He was following me, and then I just rode too fast in a corner. And that was something I shouldn’t have done. Then I crashed, but it wasn’t really that bad,” he explained.
Vingegaard fortunately escaped without significant injury from the training crash near Málaga in January, although reports from riders who saw him at the roadside suggested his face was bleeding.
Visma-Lease a Bike took the opportunity to urge fans “to always put safety first”. A spokesperson told us: “For both your own and others’ wellbeing, please allow riders to train and give them as much space and peace as possible.”
The incident came less than a week after some footage was widely shared showing Vingegaard questioning a fan who rode on the wrong side of the road on a blind bend to take a video of Visma-Lease a Bike.
In the footage, Vingegaard was seen politely pointing out to the filming rider that the climb was a two-way road, the fan then realising the error of his ways, dropping back with an apology, and getting a ‘thank you’ in return.
