"It must drive him crazy": Brian Holm justifies Vingegaard's outrage with unwanted company in training
Cycling
The 2026 season is meant to be the one where Jonas Vingegaard finally accepts the challenge of Tadej Pogacar and re-takes the Tour de France throne with an ambitious Giro-Tour plan. However the year started far from ideal as on one of his training rides earlier this week, the Dane lost control over his bicycle and ended up with a bloodied face. Fortunately, the 29-year-old escaped any serious injuries.
A Spanish amateur cyclist Pedro García Fernández revealed more details about the crash, as he rode behind the Visma | Lease a Bike rider during his training. According to him, the two-time Tour winner got upset with García tagging along on an uphill section, and tried to shake him off in a descent. As we know now, that didn't go well.
Since then, a fellow Scandinavian Magnus Kulset (former professional with Uno-X, currently with continental team Ringerike) came to defend Vingegaard's alleged (team refused to further comment on the incident) anger over unwanted company. Now his voice is joined by a leading figure of Danish cycling, Brian Holm, who spoke to EkstraBladet:
"People probably don't understand how stressful it is for a rider. You always have the feeling that he might run you up the ass. And often they're filming you constantly. At some point it becomes too much. Then you're crazy, I understand him (that Vingegaard allegedly got angry, ed.). It must drive people like him, Pogacar and Van der Poel crazy to have people following them all the time."
Not the first incident
Brian Holm spent most of his active career in the 90s, when the roads were still quite a bit more calm. However during his time as sports director at T-Mobile and later Quick-Step, he noticed the increased unpleasant attention on trainings. And at times, a disaster was just around the corner, he reveals:
"We had two incidents at a training camp once. First, a regular cyclist rode into Fabio (Jakobsen, ed.). There were brake marks on his cycling shoes afterwards. The second time, a cyclist was about to swallow his tongue. Stijn Steels had to react quickly and take out his tongue so he wouldn't choke."
Furthermore, riding too close violates one's privacy to an extent. "If you are sitting with your partner and talking on a ride, and there is another cyclist sitting behind, it is like if the two of you are sitting at a café table, and someone sits over at your table and listens to your conversation. It is exactly the same feeling that a cyclist has."
Jonas Vingegaard would prefer if cycling tourists kept their distance
Holm acknowledges that there is not much that can be done about the trend. The public roads are for everyone, but he still has a request for the recreational cyclists out there: "People could join a cycling club and learn what to do and what not to do. Someone who comes from a cycling club could never come up with that (to follow the riders, ed.). It's common courtesy and social intelligence. They don't understand it when they don't cycle that much themselves."
After the incident with Jonas Vingegaard, Visma | Lease a Bike also had a clear message, which they sent out to the press along with the update that Vingegaard was not seriously injured: "As a team, we would generally ask fans on bikes to put safety first. Both for your own well-being and that of others. Please leave the riders to train and give them as much space and quiet as possible."
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Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026 - He is boring
leedorney08-11-2026 - To Twoje przemyślenia te bla, bla :)
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parisbound0008-11-2026 - there needs to be space in life for pointless comments!Ketterechts08-11-2026
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