![\"Tadej](\"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Pogacar-Eminen-look.jpg\")
<\/p>\nTadej Poga\u010dar is the biggest earner in pro cycling, but his new brand association is facing scrutiny.<\/p>\n
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Tadej Poga\u010dar has unveiled a new Eminem-inspired hairstyle. (Photo: Tadej Pogacar Instagram)<\/p>\n
Published January 31, 2026 04:19PM<\/p>\n
It\u2019s going to be several months before Tadej Poga\u010dar<\/a> is chasing yellow, what with his later season start and decision to focus on single day races early on, but he\u2019s already got hair colour to match.<\/p>\n The four-time Tour de France winner unveiled a new look on social media, showing off the kind of bleached hairstyle sported in the past by those trying to coordinate with race leader\u2019s jerseys.<\/p>\n Or maybe that\u2019s not what he was aiming for at all. In the caption to his latest post on social media, he referred to the rapper Eminem.<\/p>\n \u201cSlim Shady \u2013 introduced me to hip hop. When I was 12 years old on my listening device was downloaded around 200 songs. All Eminem. Since then I discovered the love of rap and hip hop. Now on my repeat playlists are mostly Slovenian rappers.\u201d<\/p>\n Comments include those from several pro riders. \u201cCan the real one stand up please?\u201d Mathieu van der Poel asks, while Kasia Niewiadoma makes a Polish rap recommendation.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n It\u2019s all light hearted, but Poga\u010dar\u2019s latest big sponsor is leading to scrutiny from some, with allegations of a different type of shady.<\/p>\n Road.cc has featured an intriguing article<\/a> about the background to crypto company<\/a> KuCoin, which this week named Poga\u010dar as its new \u2018global brand ambassador\u2019 at a launch in Vienna.<\/p>\n \u201cBuilt around the theme \u2018Trust, Proven by Performance,\u2019 the partnership reflects a shared belief that trust is not declared, but earned through long-term performance, professionalism, and discipline,\u201d it said in its announcement.<\/p>\n \u201cRather than a transactional sponsorship, the collaboration represents a rare alignment of values between two leaders operating at the highest level of their respective fields.\u201d<\/p>\n The agreement is undoubtedly a major endorsement for a pro cyclist and, given the size of the company\u2019s business, is likely a very lucrative deal.<\/p>\n A troubling background behind the latest deal KuCoin company was founded in China nine years ago by Chun Gan, Ke Tang, and Johnny Lyu. It has over 30 million customers and billions of dollars\u2019 worth of cryptocurrency in daily trading volume.<\/p>\n \u201cFor KuCoin, trust has been built over eight years through sustained investment in security infrastructure, regulatory alignment, and operational resilience across global markets,\u201d it said in the announcement.<\/p>\n \u201cAs regulatory standards continue to evolve, KuCoin has strengthened its compliance framework and governance capabilities, reinforcing its commitment to building a secure and trusted digital-asset platform for a growing global user base.\u201d<\/p>\n However, as noted by Road.CC<\/a>, the U.S. Attorney\u2019s Office [Southern District of New York] announced last year that the company pleaded guilty to one count of operating an unlicensed money transmitting business.<\/p>\n The U.S. Attorney\u2019s announcement<\/a> said that \u201cKuCoin flouted U.S. anti-money laundering laws by failing to implement effective anti-money laundering (\u201cAML\u201d) and know-your-customer (\u201cKYC\u201d) programs designed to prevent KuCoin from being used for money laundering and terrorist financing, failing to report suspicious transactions, and failing to register with the U.S. Department of Treasury\u2019s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (\u201cFinCEN\u201d).\u201d<\/p>\n It said that the guilty plea of KuCoin\u2019s operator PEKEN saw the entity agree to pay monetary penalties totaling more than $297 million.<\/p>\n In addition to that, it said that PEKEN agreed that KuCoin would exit the U.S. market for at least the next two years. It also stated that Gan and Tang would \u2018no longer have any role in KuCoin\u2019s management or operations\u2019 following their indictments in March 2024.<\/p>\n \u2018Billions of dollars of suspicious transactions\u2019 U.S Attorney Danielle R. Sasson painted a bleak picture<\/a> of the company.<\/p>\n \u201cFor years, KuCoin avoided implementing required anti-money laundering policies designed to identify criminal actors and prevent illicit transactions. As a result, KuCoin was used to facilitate billions of dollars\u2019 worth of suspicious transactions and to transmit potentially criminal proceeds, including proceeds from darknet markets and malware, ransomware, and fraud schemes.\u201d<\/p>\n The company has also paid fines in separate cases in the US and Canada, and has also run into hot water in the UK.<\/p>\n
\n![\"Poga\u010dar](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/CAuldPhoto-2025-TourdeFrance-Stage16-0687.jpg\"\/)
Poga\u010dar raced to his fourth Tour de France title last summer (Photo: Chris Auld\/Velo)<\/p>\n
\n![\"UAE](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/GettyImages-2251047880.jpg\"\/)
Poga\u010dar is the biggest star in the sport but questions are being asked about his latest sponsorship (Photo: Jose Jordan \/ AFP)<\/p>\n