With Opening Weekend around the corner, Belgian Cycling is urging fans to keep their enthusiasm in check and respect the riders.
A new awareness campaign, supported by Cycling Vlaanderen and Wallonie-Bruxelles Cycling, encourages supporters to “support with your heart, not with hate.”
The campaign includes a video featuring Alana Castrique (AG Insurance-Soudal) and Fabio Van den Bossche (Soudal Quick-Step), aiming to remind fans that their behavior has a real impact.
Support, don’t spoil
“Cycling has been in the DNA of Belgians for generations,” Massimo Van Lancker, director of sport at Belgian Cycling, said.. “It is also one of the most accessible sports: as a supporter, you are literally a few meters from the champions. That accessibility is a huge asset, but it also requires responsibility. We notice that boundaries of respect are sometimes crossed, and that affects not only the riders, but also the image and future of cycling itself.”
Van Lancker added that a respectful atmosphere matters for both current and future champions.
“Young people look at what happens along the course. If they see riders being booed or pelted, it affects their dream of racing themselves and the influx into youth cycling.”
A history of nuisance
There’s plenty of reason for the PSA too. Because the past few years have just seen so many examples of really, really dumb stuff for so-called fans.
Although the initiative was meant for Belgian fans (don’t worry, we’ll get to them) there have been plenty of examples outside the country of silliness from spectators. At the Euro championships back in October in France, Tadej Pogačar won–but had to deal with nonsense.
As the Slovenian was riding solo to victory, some dorks placed stickers on his back, made kicking gestures, and even exposed themselves. Video footage showed the two absolute winners attempting to distract him on the Val d’Enfer climb, but Pogačar ignored them.
Van der Poel and ‘fans’
Mathieu van der Poel has been the target of all kinds of crap. In the finale of his solo E3 Saxo Classic victory, a spectator, presumed to be Belgian, spat on Dutch star van der Poel. He didn’t react during the race but commented afterward: “There are people who shouldn’t watch. But I can’t change that myself.” He said , “That it keep happening? Unfortunately, yes.”
Remember at Paris-Roubaix when a spectator threw a cap into his…
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