The organisation of the Vuelta a España has restricted access to one of its own media teams amid a swirl of controversy surrounding the nature of content being produced.
Erola Jons, a 28-year-old social media figure with over 6 million followers across Instagram and TikTok, had been tasked by the race with hosting live streams on the race’s YouTube and Twitch channels, for which she was granted behind-the-scenes access.
The content that dominates Jons’ social media output and that has built her following revolves around trying to flirt with strangers in public settings, approaching men who usually react with confusion to her chat-up lines before realising they are being filmed.
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Jons, who apparently has no experience or expertise in cycling, has continued this approach at one of the sport’s biggest races, asking the world champion Tadej Pogačar: “Why do you hyperventilate every time you see me?”
According to multiple mainstream Spanish media outlets, the race organisation has modified Jons’ role amid intense backlash, limiting her access to riders and adjusting her content brief.
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“Erola Jonas will not have access to the mixed zone, the team buses, or the areas in which she could interact directly with riders,” reports the sports daily Marca.
“La Vuelta has officially requested that she adjust the tone and style of her content according to the context of a sporting event of the highest level.”
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The El País newspaper adds that Jons will have to gain the permission of teams if she wants to speak to a rider.
Cyclingnews has contacted the race organisers for an official statement on the matter.
The stage 1 content and backlash
The controversy mostly stems from Jons’ stage 1 stream. After the opening stage, she went to the truck behind the podium where Pogačar was getting changed into his various classification jerseys for the podium ceremony, and attempted to shout questions at the world champion, who she referred to as ‘Pogachitar’.
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When he exited the truck, she asked him “Why do you hyper-ventilate every time you see me?”
Pogačar asked “What? What is that?”, and when she responded “like, you breathe”, the non-plussed race leader said: “I breathe 24/7”, before someone from the race organisation whisked him away.
In the same stream, she asked a Netcompany Ineos soigneur: “Are you here to win, or to distract me? Because you are too cute.”
According to multiple Spanish media outlets, she also tried to approach Josh Tarling and said: “I don’t think he likes interviews, and much less mine, but I have 20 stages yet to win him over – don’t worry, I’ll win this one over quickly.”
Tarling is racing the Vuelta just over one week after the death of his 19-year-old brother.
The content generated by Jons has attracted widespread criticism from within the cycling community and beyond. This was referenced by Jons herself on Sunday morning when she commented, “We broke the internet” after the stage 1 stream.
The broadcaster and author Laura Meseguer wrote a column for Spanish newspaper El País, in which she argued that Jons was reversing years of progress made in terms of women carving out opportunities in a male-dominated sport.
“The image that came across after the first stage was that of a woman without knowledge of cycling and without respect for the cyclists,” Meseguer wrote, going on to ponder the reaction had a male content creator done the same at the Tour de France Femmes.
“In the middle of a debate over the role of ‘influencers’, it’s necessary to take more responsibility and reflect deeply on what audience is trying to be reached and at what cost. Let that cost not erode the progress made by women in this industry nor devalue the sport or the athletes in pursuit of entertainment and ‘likes.’ “
Jons continues on the race, and it remains to be seen how the content of her videos changes from here.
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