Jonas Vingegaard crashed during training yesterday, a fan who was following the former Tour de France winner on a descent claiming the Dane was “trying to drop me” and “got angry with me for staying on his wheel while going downhill”.
This morning, Visma-Lease a Bike confirmed to road.cc that Vingegaard fortunately escaped without significant injury from the training crash near Málaga on Monday, although reports from riders who saw him at the roadside suggest his face was bleeding and the two-time Tour winner was left angered by the amateur rider following him down the descent.
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.”
Pedro García Fernández, a Spanish amateur rider, put his account of the training crash on Strava. He shared a picture of him following Vingegaard and told his followers “Jonas crashed while trying to drop me on the descent of Fuente la Reina”.
When Fernández stopped to check on the Visma-Lease a Bike Grand Tour star, he apparently “got angry with me for staying on his wheel while going downhill”.
“You can be professional, but you can also be humble,” the amateur rider wrote on Strava. “He was going down fast just to get rid of me and ended up on the ground.
I don’t make a living from this and I’m an amateur like most people, so I don’t think his anger as a professional is justified because of that.”
However, many of the replies from other riders have followed the line of what Visma-Lease a Bike told us this morning and urged fellow fans and amateurs to respect pro riders’ space and peace when sharing the roads.
Another person who says they happened upon the scene reported spotting Vingegaard by the roadside guardrail with “his face bloody”.
“He must have taken a hard hit to end up dragging his face along the ground,” the second rider said. “I also stopped and asked if he needed help and he told me no, to go away, very angry. Now I understand why.
“I also think that people like him, who are professionals and have a lot at stake, need to be given space and shown respect,” they continued. “They’re risking their lives, their salary, and the livelihood of many people around them. It seems to me that he felt a bit harassed and went faster than he should have on a road he doesn’t know well.”
From what Visma-Lease a Bike have told us this morning it sounds as though Vingegaard escaped without anything too serious on the medical front and his preparation for a first tilt at the Giro d’Italia should not be impacted too badly. The Dane is expected to return to racing next month at the UAE Tour, although it remains to be seen if Monday’s crash affects that.
The incident comes 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.
33 thoughts on ““He got angry with me for staying on his wheel”: Jonas Vingegaard crashes on descent while being followed by amateur, as team urges fans to “give riders space and peace””
What a d**k.
What a d**k.
One of the joys of cycling is that anyone can serendipitously share the roads with the world’s best. I’ve bumped into many pros in my time, and had lovely chats whilst stopped at traffic lights with world champions. But this kind of behaviour is just verging on stalking.
Always a thrill to see WTl
Always a thrill to see WT professionals out training, especially when they are riding in a group and smashing it; we lesser mortals should just enjoy the sight and leave them well alone. There are way too many twats with cameras trying to get content for their TikTok (there’s a particularly annoying Australian one who acts as if he’s a pro himself) who abuse the privilege and will be the first to complain when professionals are forced to start training on closed roads or with increased security around them blocking other riders from following.
You don’t sit on someone’s
You don’t sit on someone’s wheel without asking. Pro or not pro, uphill/flat/downhill, doesn’t matter. This is not just courtesy; it’s safety – if the rider in front needs to brake suddenly, you’re going to crash into them.
If you’re riding with friends or clubmates; it’s implied that the people on the front are aware of riders behind and moderate their actions accordingly – avoiding sudden braking, calling out etc. You can’t expect a stranger to do that without asking.
Fernández also seems to be gloating that he caused Vingegaard to crash, which is not a good look.
During a rest day in the 2010
During a rest day in the 2010 Tour de France, I followed Migeul Indurain down the Tourmalet. He was there amongst a group of Tour and cycling legends to celebrate 100 years of the Tourmalet in the Tour. Unlike the protagonist in this new story, I kept a very respectful distance and just watched him descend. I kept thinking ‘don’t even try to get close’ – not that I could have! I wanted to avoid just such a headline as the one above. It was only traffic holding him up in places that allowed me to keep him just about in view.
I agree with the comments
I agree with the comments below. These people are professionals who earn a lot, so have to accept and comply with public demands for a reasonable degree of co-operation. The top people do this and give interviews soon after arduous days in the saddle. This co-operation does not extend to the behaviour of this twerp.
Amazing how many people have
Amazing how many people have no concept that they are not the centre of the universe and that other people have no idea who they are, their intentions or capabilities.
I wouldn’t jump on a strangers wheel without talking to them first. I wouldn’t sit behind a woman for km on end as I know it might make them uncomfortable. I know that I am no danger to anyone but they don’t and its not nice for them to feel any danger or worry because of the unknown of the person behind them.
I wouldn’t want a stranger sitting on my wheel on a downhill incase I need to brake heavily and I have no idea of their capabilities or what either of us will do.
The irony of telling him to stay humble. Perhaps, just perhaps the reason this idiot was on Jonas’ wheel on the downhill was because of his little ego wanting to be able to say that he kept up with a pro cyclist.
What an idiot (I could use
What an idiot (I could use far less polite words). What made me wonder if he’s got some sort of ego problem was the fact that he believed Jonas was trying to drop him on the descent, without realising the stupidiity of thinking that a three-times Grand Tour winner on a training ride would give a s**t about that.
“got angry with me for
“got angry with me for staying on his wheel while going downhill”
Ive been in that position where a wheelsucker decides to just sit on your wheel. On the flat its irritating but mostly nothing more, but ive had it when going downhill and its very unnerving. If I have to brake i dont know if they are going to react in time or plough into the back of me. its not petty trying to just stay safe. If I wanted to ride in a group I would. I prefer to cycle alone to get away from theses types in the first place.
I wonder if Tom Pidcock ever gets people trying to stick on his wheel mind. That would takw some balls
I was unerved by it a bit
I was unerved by it a bit once on the flat. I was drafted on my first day out, during the first lockdown. Fortunately, I was only going Zone 1/2 so was able to up it. I had to up it to Zone 4 before I got rid of him though. Probably a very nice chap but it was a nervy time!
Mind you, what freaked me out more was the 2nd ride and some muppet in a car just managing to keep two wheels on the ground as he went through the same roundabout as me. Fortunately he was on the other side of a big roundabout and if he’d lost it he have spun away from me.
Give the pros a break!
Give the pros a break! Cycling.is their work, which they do day in day out regardless of the weather conditions (like Remco climbing solo La Fustera towards Benissa last Sunday afternoon). Whenever I happen to join a group, I always ask if I can tag along. Ubinet (the kit looks amazing, bu the way), Saint-Michel and AG Soudal (last year) were cool. If you aren’t welcome, some pros spit, snort and sneeze and share their germs with everybody behind them.
I honestly don’t see the
I honestly don’t see the problem Jonas could have just slowed down and let him past, he’s just angry that his bike handling skills are not the best, we’ve all seen him try to ride no handed it’s like a swan dancing on ice. He could have just waited till the next hill and rode him off his wheel.
Larold wrote:
Yeah, that’s why he’s always losing time on descents, certainly never going to be a GT winner with that lack of ability.
There have been plenty of GT
There have been plenty of GT winners who weren’t particularly good skills wise…..and fell off consistently………..I can think of a British rider as well.
GTs are won on the climbs, not the descents….
If you want to watched skillful cyclists, go and watch the MTB World Cup…..skills that most WT pros can only dream of.
Velophaart_95 wrote:
If you’re referring to Mr Froome, as I assume you are, ironically he was one of the few people whom we can say at least partially won a GT on descents; the day of the immortal Finestre attack in 2018 he not only ripped time out of Dumoulin & Co on the climbs but extended his lead on the descent, going from 38s ahead at the top of the Finestre to 2m10s at the foot. CF certainly did seem to be accident prone (although to be fair all road racers crash quite a lot, he just seemed always to end up with the worst results, possibly because of his spindly frame) but as I recall most of his race-ending crashes came on the flat. More a concentration problem than a bike handling problem, maybe.
I can’t think of a single GT winner who fell off consistently on descents, if you’re going to win a GT you need to be at least on the high side of average as a descender otherwise your rivals will pile on the pressure at every opportunity to see if you will fall. GTs may not be won on descents but they sure as hell can be lost on them.
The MTB downhillers are indeed amazing, but you’re comparing apples and oranges. Put the MTB riders on a steep switchback descent after 100 miles in the saddle and 4000 m of climbing and ask them to keep up with the pro road racers at 100km/h and they would be dropped in the blink of an eye.
I assumed it was referring to
I assumed it was referring to Thomas, who does have a (somewhat unfair) reputation for falling off. Not particularly on descents, though, so if that was who was meant it doesn’t seem very relevant.
mdavidford wrote:
I agree, definitely somewhat unfair on the Welsh wizard, like Froome he just seemed to get more than his share of bad luck, both in causes of accidents and outcomes; I think at least twice he had to pull out of races with broken bones after hitting a carelessly-discarded bidon, something no amount of skill can prevent, then there was the time he was brought down by the rider in front hitting a parked police motorcycle…
Aww, he’s gone all shy and
Aww, he’s gone all shy and made his strava account private.
FWIW, he gives himself a nickname of ‘el cobrillo ?’. Charming.
There were 4 options here
There were 4 options here
Slow down
Stop
Ask him to leave you in peace
Try and beat him at 50 /80 kph on a mountain decent.
JV has some part to play in this too though you would never think it with the narrative in the press.
This is literally an every day occurrence for these guys yet everyone is acting like its not .JV made a mistake here and bears the responsibility fir what is his own decision and actions
Jaijai wrote:
The only evidence you have for this is the word of the blowhard who was following him who wants to claim that he put him under so much pressure he cracked. It’s perfectly possible that Vingegaard hit a patch of oil or gravel and that’s what tipped him off, unless I see evidence to the contrary I’m not going to take the word of some pathetic amateur egotist who probably thinks it’s the high spot of his life to be able to claim that he’s so good that he made a professional crash because he couldn’t drop him.
I’m with you in spirit, but I
I’m with you in spirit, but I see the situation a bit differently in the end.
The fact that JV was angry at the bloke (apparently confirmed by the second rider and Visma’s follow-up comments) strongly implies that he was aware of and bothered by him, which in turn implies that the wheelsucker’s presence contributed to the crash*. Whether that’s because JV was trying to drop him or because he hit a patch of loose gravel while distracted, who knows. Regardless, JV could have and probably should have (for his own sake) asked the guy to back off rather than riding under pressure from a nobody with unknown skills.
If there’s a villain here, it’s the amateur for sure–wheelsucking without permission is rude if not dangerous, and his Strava post and follow-up comments are tasteless at best. But we can acknowledge that while also observing that JV probably could have protected himself better under the circumstances and that his own decisions appear to have contributed to the crash.
*If, alternatively, he was merely angry out of embarrassment, that’s not a great look either.
LookAhead wrote:
There is a third alternative, which is just that he was running high on adrenaline after crashing and so struck out at the nearest available target; the fact that it was someone who had already been annoying him was a bonus. It’s not rational but I know the feeling, last time I came off on black ice I got up and booted my poor bicycle for absolutely no reason at all, it was just shock and adrenaline triggering an automatic fight response that was looking for a target (I apologised to it profusely afterwards and bought it very expensive handlebar tape to replace what was torn in the crash and I think it’s forgiven me…).
I’m not sure I’d like to
I’m not sure I’d like to continue a conversation with someone who would treat his poor bike that way, and after all it’s done for you! I’d say that kind of boorish behavior calls for a *very* nice tire upgrade at the absolute minimum, all the better to prevent another come-off. If the Minister of the Treasury objects, you can insist it’s merely what propriety demands; you have no choice in the matter.
LookAhead wrote:
I am sure the Minister of the Treasury would not object, however she would say well whilst you’re getting them you can pick me up a pair as well, thereby doubling my expenses…
Rendel Harris wrote:
He lost control of his bike and crashed ,thats the mistake,the guy words are irrelevant
If the guy’s words were
If the guy’s words were irrelevant why are you believing them when he says that Vingegaard was trying to outrun him?
JV Passed the ” blowhard ” of
JV Passed the ” blowhard ” of his own volition then couldn’t shake him off ,then decided to ” drop ” himself in a ditch
Jaijai wrote:
Where does it say that he passed the blowhard? Even if it did you would still be relying on the word of this clearly egotistical twat who is revelling in his fifteen seconds of fame to claim that a superstar fell off because he had to try so hard to gap him, and what does “decided to drop himself in a ditch” even mean? I’m afraid it sounds more as if you have an anti-Vingegaard agenda than any interest in the facts (for the record I’m not a huge fan myself as I find him curiously robotic and unexciting but that doesn’t justify morons hassling him while he’s working).
If I understand correctly
If I understand correctly from elsewhere, this rider was just descending and Jonas passed him. So it seems Jonas got angry cause he couldn’t drop the rider he’d passed, let the red mist descend, and fucked up.
I’m sorry, but – assuming the rider left the normal number of metres sensible gap for descending – it sounds like they were fully entitled to just keep descending the road they were descending before Jonas decided “I’m the pro, I must pass and beat this amateur!”. There is no rule that if a pro passes you you must slow down.
Jonas’ ego appears to have gotten the better of him. For a tour winner to get into a “must beat the amateur ahead on this descent!” mindset, leading him to crash, is somewhat pathetic – particularly to then blame the rider HE CHOSE TO PASS.
Paul J wrote:
The version of the story I have seen elsewhere is that this amateur has a local reputation for waiting at the top of climbs used by pro teams for training and then jumping on their wheels to try and take them on descents to prove what a cool dude he is and get video footage, so you pays your money…certainly the humblebragging “Jonas tried to drop me and crashed” statements seem consistent with that.
Wasn’t there so won’t comment
Wasn’t there so won’t comment on what went on. That said if I’ve got someone on my wheel who I’d rather f-off I just slow down , or even stop . Far better in my opinion though to have a little chat I might even make a friend.
The certainty of these
The certainty of these editorial comments is remarkable, given how little real information is out there.
The pros that have joined our (local) team rides are generally cautious about letting unknown riders next to them. They are normal people, and there’s genuine fear there. They don’t know who’s a Fred and who’s safe. I get it.
On the other hand, riders from the “S” company of Morgan Hill occasionally venture into Santa Cruz county, and they’ve been arrogant and dismissive to everyone whose regular routes they’re invading. It’s not well received.
This incident could be either thing, and none of us actually know how it was.
The pros that have joined our
The pros that have joined our (local) team rides are generally cautious about letting unknown riders next to them
I can see why – seems to me that riding in a bunch at speed is a skilled job and solo riders like me don’t have that skill. Presumably, the advent of disks has made it easier – pause for people to claim that disks have made it more difficult because someone in front of you suddenly slows rapidly.
This belongs on Reddit’s “Am
This belongs on Reddit’s “Am I The A$$hole”
For me, it’s the Spanish fella who gets the A prize, don’t wheel suck, you clown.