"He doesn't need a push! He's going more than fast enough" - Nathan van Hooydonck understands Tadej Pogacar's frustration at fans on Monte Grappa at Giro d'Italia
Cycling
Whilst Tadej Pogacar was again the star of the show on stage 20 of the 2024 Giro d'Italia as he raced to his sixth stage win of the race in the now typically dominant fashion, there were some unsavoury scenes on the Monte Grappa climb as fans repeatedly got a little too close for comfort to the Maglia Rosa.
After the UAE Team Emirates leader attacked clear of his rivals on the second ascent of the monstrous climb, Pogacar was left visibly frustrated after a fan grabbed the Maglia Rosa and attempted to push him up towards the summit. Pogacar, clearly unhappy by this action, let the culprit know exactly what he thought but sadly, this wasn't the only incident on the climb either as the UAE Team Emirates leader implored supporters to move a pink smoke flare out his way and a little closer to the top, another overzealous fan made contact.
"Cycling is nothing without its fans. They make it a special experience, also for the riders. But you need to respect the riders and you need to respect their efforts," reflected former Team Visma | Lease a Bike star Nathan van Hooydonck post-stage on Eurosport's The Breakaway. "He doesn't need a push! He's going more than fast enough."
More than anything though, van Hooydonck doesn't think the fans realise just how dangerous running alongside the riders can actually be. "I can understand these people getting very excited. But they also need to understand that this rider is suffering - Tadej won by a big margin, but he is suffering," the Belgian explains. "If you get hampered by somebody running alongside you, which I find very annoying when that happens, he might stumble and make you crash. This is something you are desperately trying to avoid as a rider."
"It's so hard when you've got that many thousands of people on the side of the road. It's fantastic for the atmosphere," adds van Hooydonck's Eurosport colleague, Daniel Lloyd. "But there's always going to be one, or two, or 10, who are just a bit silly and ruin it for everyone else."
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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- Where Merckx just rode every single race he could and won all the time, Hinault won less often (percentage wise) because he was more judicious in what he raced. His palmares are nuts. He had amazing rivals, one to start his career and another to end it in the grand tours. His classics were solid. What sets him apart from Merckx and Pogačar are that he basically dabbled in the classics while the other two love(d) them. I used to compare Pogačar to Hinault for his grand tour record and occasional classics win, until I realized that the comparison was wrong. Pogačar loves the classics - ah, the memory of his reaction to finishing fourth in a 2 person sprint in Flanders in ‘22: utter domination in any one day race since then, even when he doesn’t win. Hinault lived for the grand tours and I don’t think anyone else will ever reach his record. 10 wins in 13 attempts? Good lord. An amazing rider. Wish there was more footage to watch.RidesHills11-11-2026
- I had no idea about that either.
santiagobenites10-11-2026 - great analysis thanks! appreciate you posting this. I didn't realize CX had a different standard for deviation. this is even more egregious it seems.mij10-11-2026
- As he isn't currently with Red Bull, I guess if he want to race for one more year he needs to find a team. He's 37 so this will be his last year I would guess, unless he wants to race for almost nothing like Froome did.awp10-11-2026
- I think some are making much ado about nothing. Even though Jonas is getting older, before his crash in the Tour, he looked like a solid 2nd all the way home. No one can really climb with Tadej until this year, Eric Mas showed himself which I think was a one off year for him and Paul Seixas has been able to be pretty close to him. Whatever stage race Jonas enters as long as Tadej is not there he is a favorite to win.awp10-11-2026
- Giro or not Giro, he won't win the Tour!MajorPayne10-11-2026
- Very true.awp10-11-2026
- Ciccone had a very strong end of season. Consistently attacking and livening up races. Hope he makes that last leap in progress and starts notching some significant wins. Great rider to watch.Occam10-11-2026
- Me too!!!!!Occam10-11-2026
- they can sign any 100 of top riders today but Pogi will win over Remco any time at the TDF unless something goes wrongabstractengineer10-11-2026
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HE MAKES IT 6️⃣ 🤯 Tadej Pogacar takes another Stage of the Giro d'Italia in another incredible race 👏🚴 #Giro2024
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