E3 Saxo Classic apologise after controversial LGBTQ/Wout van Aert cartoon posted on their social media
Cycling
Wout van Aert took victory at the latest round of UCI World Cup in Benidorm, without even having a saddle on his bike as he crossed the line. The E3 Saxo Classic tried to make light of this incident with a cartoon although it's fair to say, it didn't go well.
Attempting to make a joke of the saddleless van Aert, the race posted a cartoon on their official X (Twitter) account. "Wout van Aert without saddle across the finish," the headline reads. "LGBTQ community hugely enthusiastic." To cap it off, the cartoon shows a group of people in the crowd holding a Pride flag and shouting "about the rainbow jersey of Van der Poel."
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This tweet did not go down well. There were immediate calls for the post to be taken down and even some suggestions riders should boycott future editions of the race. Although the controversial tweet stayed up over night, this morning it was finally deleted with an apology post swiftly following.
"As E3 Saxo Classic, we would like to apologize for the cartoon we launched yesterday. We certainly didn't want to offend anyone here," the apology reads. "We misjudged the cartoon. We will certainly discuss this internally. Our sincere apologies."
Check it out for yourself in down below and let us know your thoughts!
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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- He should have been allowed to go to Movistar. Right now both arent a good fit for each other and are just wasting each other's time and effortabstractengineer08-11-2026
- Thibau Nys does exactly what Iserbyt is calling for
Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026 - i did not see it. was the relegation justified or an overly hard decision? and don‘t cross riders deviate from straight lines all the time? bumping into each others when they cut corners, etc … why being more strict with the rules on the finish sprint?Ketterechts08-11-2026
- seems like we are advertising the website with pointless comments…Ketterechts08-11-2026
- So?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- The UCI do have their favorites.
Front24208-11-2026 - On a positive note, you maybe notice turning this topic into a discussion has the benefit of eliminating certain participants who do not see how they can turn it back to their sole interest ;-)Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- People see what they want to. I am actually the opposite of your accusation, probably more of a rebel than most of you who don’t get the big picture. The difference is, I don’t go moaning publicly about the consequences of my transgressions, I understand the need for rules and I take my OWN responsibility when deciding to ignore or break them or doing so involuntarily. I will also not hesitate to state my case or argue vehemently when relevant, sometimes it works, sometimes it makes things worse but that’s the price to pay for principles and having character.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- That may be but that was unknown to others and nothing says that’s the whole truth. Again, don’t try to misinterpret, it is a call and technically it is correct. Besides, even if there is a valid reason, that does not disqualify the ruling or punishment as far as the rules have been developed. I don’t think they’re as far as in football where for handball there is a distinction (in some ways and specific cases) between intentional or not. And football can be just as harsh and people live with it, eg the offside rule, also judged to within tiny fractions but often wrong or ignored. It’s the nature of every collective organisation and sometimes I wonder if our rebellion against it isn’t seated in the feelings we carry from the injustices we’ve felt personally, like being flashed driving 1km/h too fast when we are explained limits are just a security measure but we are absolutely certain not to have endangered anyone with our transgression. The problem is, nobody has better solutions and no 2 people have the same interpretation of where a limit should be.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- Because for you deviated implies the other rider MUST have been made to fall and fail to finish ??? I don’t know if you ride a bike but next time someone carves you up or drives dangerously close, just hold back from those feelings of changing something, reporting or filming or even complaining. Everyone will just say, hey you’re still here undamaged, doesn’t seem like anyone did anything.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
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A statement from E3 Saxo Classic.
“Its funny” “People are snowflakes” “pc brigade” But in all seriousness. There are no openly male gay riders in the pro-peloton. Statistically some of them will be gay. This doesn’t make it easier for them to be their authentic selves.
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