UAE takes measures to protect Tadej Pogacar from intrusive fans

In recent weeks, there has been a lot of discussion about recreational cyclists bothering pros during their training sessions. Even world champion Tadej Pogacar recently had a confrontation with a 'fan' who gave the Slovenian the middle finger. Pogacar’s team, UAE Emirates XRG, has already taken measures during their recent team training camp to prevent such situations.

José Antonio 'Matxi' Fernández, team manager at UAE Emirates XRG, spoke with the Spanish AS about the issue. He notes that recreational cyclists increasingly try to film riders during training.

"I have witnessed very delicate situations where recreational cyclists, driven by emotion, ride in the middle of the road to film the riders," he explains. "When a rider sharply corrects a person riding on the wrong side of the road because a car is coming from the front, the rider often gets blamed — while the context is completely different."

Motorbike
To prevent these situations, especially during their training camps, UAE Emirates XRG sends a 'security guard' alongside Pogacar, riding a motorbike. "During our training camp in Alicante, someone on a motorbike followed Tadej to protect him. We train in small groups of about eight riders because cars cannot just pass groups of twenty. However, when recreational cyclists join, the group becomes too big."

The motorbike rider’s job is to explain to recreational cyclists that group sizes must remain small. "We place a motorbike behind Tadej so that the small group is respected, cars can overtake, and there is no long line of congestion."