Not always, at the start of this season, have professional road cyclists enjoyed the right serenity to train.

On more than one occasion, in fact, several riders have found themselves dealing with annoying and invasive behaviors from fans, episodes that have highlighted a growing lack of respect and sensitivity from passionate supporters towards their idols.

The latest incident involved Tadej Pogacar in Spain, who found himself at the center of a fan's anger after asking the latter to wait a few minutes to take a photograph with him.

In light of this and the increasingly high risks caused by amateurs who join or ride alongside the world champion and his teammates during training, the UAE Team Emirates-XRG has chosen to implement an important countermeasure to protect the regular conduct of their riders' outings.

"If we train in 20 all together, cars cannot pass, so we divide into smaller groups. But when amateurs join, the small peloton becomes too large again, and who decides who can join and who cannot? Who has the right to ensure that no one feels disrespected?" explained the team's Sport Manager Joxean Matxin in an interview with AS.

"For this reason, we have decided to put a motorcycle behind Tadej so that the small group of riders he is in is respected and cars can pass without creating kilometers of traffic".

This solution undoubtedly makes one think, but considering recent events and the evident spread of unfriendly attitudes among those cycling with pros, it does not seem out of place at all.

"If someone reacts badly while being recorded, perhaps they are provoked by everything happening at that moment. If we make a mistake, we apologize. But if you ask to wait two minutes and someone gets angry, who is right? The one who gets angry or the one asking to wait?" Matxin pointed out, who, while remaining on the side of the fans, hopes that awareness increases among them about what the road and training represent for professionals.

"I am the first to defend fans. Every day our riders stop to take photos and exchange a few words, but no one would enter someone's workplace and start filming them while they are working. For a cyclist, that workplace is the bicycle, which for others is leisure time" concluded the Spanish manager.