‘Don’t boo at him’ – Jonas Vingegaard defends Tadej Pogačar against Tour de France hecklers

“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.

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“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.”

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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.

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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.”