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<\/a>. The incident sparked discussion about how fans should behave when sharing the road with pro riders training.<\/p>\n Vingegaard\u2019s great rival Tadej Poga\u010dar 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 \u2018do not disturb\u2019.<\/p>\n >\u201cDo you wait two minutes or show me the middle finger?\u201d: Tadej Poga\u010dar hits out at \u201cspoiled\u201d fans after bizarre confrontation<\/a><\/p>\n Speaking with TV2, Vingegaard said he is happy to take pictures with fans but suggested people \u201chave to accept\u201d pro riders out training \u201care at work\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s probably a big deal for them to see a rider like Tadej or me,\u201d he said. \u201cYou have to accept that we\u2019re at work. Rather than either sitting on top of us or next to us and talking to us. We\u2019re working, and I might be doing an interval, and then I don\u2019t have the time or energy to sit and talk. That way, I think they should give a little more privacy.\u201d<\/p>\n Vingegaard also admitted that he has questioned what the future of training on open roads is if things continue to get worse.<\/p>\n \u201cAt 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\u2019s what it\u2019s going to end up with,\u201d he said. \u201cEither the riders have a motorcycle or some kind of personal bodyguard, which means that people can\u2019t get close at all. Then it\u2019s even worse. We have to take care of ourselves.<\/p>\n \u201cBut it\u2019s actually not so much when I\u2019m cycling at home in Denmark, because there aren\u2019t that many people cycling around Glyng\u00f8re. But it\u2019s more when you\u2019re abroad, because there are many people following you. I think it\u2019s okay for people to come up and ask for a picture and let us do the training that we have to do. That\u2019s my job.<\/p>\n \u201cEven though you might think I shouldn\u2019t, 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\u2019t just blow my nose because I risk hitting him. So I have to be considerate of someone all the time. There\u2019s a reason I\u2019m out riding alone. It\u2019s because I want to ride alone.<\/p>\n \u201cMaybe he knows who I am, but we don\u2019t know each other. And the fact that he\u2019s sitting in my wheel, I think is a bit borderline. I don\u2019t just follow someone on the street when I\u2019m out walking. So for me it seems a bit borderline that people follow me in that way.\u201d<\/p>\n The fan who was following Vingegaard at the time of the crash went on Strava and claimed the Dane was \u201ctrying to drop me\u201d and \u201cgot\u00a0angry with me for staying on his wheel while going downhill\u201d.<\/p>\n Vingegaard agreed with this assessment and said the post described the incident \u201cvery well\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s exactly what happened. He was following me, and then I just rode too fast in a corner. And that was something I shouldn\u2019t have done. Then I crashed, but it wasn\u2019t really that bad,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n Vingegaard fortunately escaped without significant injury from the training crash near M\u00e1laga in January, although reports from riders who saw him at the roadside suggested his face was bleeding.<\/p>\n
![\"Fan](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/untitled_17.jpg\")
Fan films Visma-Lease a Bike on blind bend (Image Credit: @artem4ik19)<\/p>\n