Jonas Vingegaard says being followed by amateur riders during training is becoming more common – and can be dangerous.
On the eve of Paris-Nice, the Dane spoke publicly for the first time about the training crash that briefly disrupted his winter.
Vingegaard crashed during a training ride in Spain earlier this year after being followed by an amateur cyclist, an incident that later circulated on Strava. According to Vingegaard, the description posted online largely matches what happened.
“I actually think the guy who posted it explained it pretty well. That’s basically what happened,” Vingegaard told TV 2 Sport. “He followed me, and then I just went too fast into a corner. That’s something I shouldn’t have done. I crashed, but luckily it wasn’t serious.”
The incident occurred in January and came shortly before the multiple Grand Tour winner had planned to begin his season at the UAE Tour. After also dealing with a minor illness, his racing debut was pushed back until this week’s Paris-Nice.
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Vingegaard said that having the dude there may have influenced his decision in the corner.
“It might be that he knew who I was, but we don’t know each other. For me it feels a bit intrusive when someone sits on my wheel like that,” he said. “I wouldn’t just follow someone down the street when I’m walking. So it feels a bit strange when people do that.”
The Visma – Lease a Bike rider said that he has no issue with fans approaching him for a photo during training rides. Being chased, however, is a different matter.
“There’s a reason I’m out riding alone. It’s because I want to ride alone,” he said.
Having another rider directly behind him also forces him to change how he rides.
“I still have to think about the person behind me,” he said. “If I brake suddenly, he might ride straight into me. If I need to clear my nose, I can’t just do it. I constantly have to consider someone else.”
The problem isn’t unique to Vingegaard. World champ Tadej Pogačar has previously said riders should be left alone during training, and his team has at times used a motorbike escort during rides in Spain.
Vingegaard hopes it won’t come to that.
“If it keeps getting worse, that might be where things end up — with a motorbike or some kind of bodyguard,” he said. “But that would be a shame. We just want to be able to do our jobs.”
Paris–Nice resumes on Tuesday with a TTT. Visma has also been practicing its start for the event. In this team time trial format, squads launch their leader, rather than finishing with the full set of riders as in traditional versions.