“Social media is the cancer of our society”: Tadej Pogačar says it’s not worth following news and it can “ruin your day”; Chris Froome backs TdF free-to-air campaign; Cyclists criticise ‘Caution School Ahead’ on bike lane + more on the live blog

Ouch Tadej.

A UAE Team Emirates XRG press conference was the site of several interesting remarks and quotes from Tadej Pogačar as the world champion answered questions about social media, his career and goals, Visma and Wout van Aert unravelling at Dwars door Vlaanderen, his upcoming showdowns at Flanders and Roubaix with Mathieu van der Poel… and his aversion to champagne and beer.

When asked whether social media could be a “burden for top athletes”, the 26-year-old Slovenian said: “I mean, social media is the cancer of our society. You can be on social media all day, and there are a lot of positive things, but always the negative things come out the most.

“It can ruin your day and it's really not worth it to follow social media and news, no offence to you guys,” Pogačar said, referring to the journalists present in the room.

“It’s best not to care about those things and the easiest way to not care about those things is to not read them and not be anywhere present.”

> "Gen Z and their phones": Tadej Pogačar still replying to Twitter memes... 15 minutes before Tour of Flanders starts

The response would probably reflect a maturing on the part of the Slovenian, because if I remember correctly, exactly two years ago he was replying to Twitter memes... 15 minutes before the start of the Tour of Flanders.

He was also asked if he’d be waiting to exact revenge on Van der Poel at the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix — the latter being the first time the three-time Tour de France winner will be visiting the Hell of the North.

His response, as classy as ever: “Revenge for Sanremo at Ronde? I don’t know why I would be bitter or looking for revenge when nobody did anything bad to me, so there is nothing about revenge.”

Tadej Pogačar and Mathieu van der Poel on the podium of the 2024 world road race championships, Zurich (Zac Williams/SWpix.com)

He also added: “I don’t think about what I want to be, how people see me. I want to do whatever keeps me interested in cycling and not to lose motivation and just give up, because it becomes boring, every year it’s the same. I just want to get all the experiences of cycling, so when I retire, I will not have any regrets and say that ‘I did my best in every aspect of cycling’.”

Perhaps the most controversial moment of the press conference came when he was put on the spot and asked: “What tastes better, post-race Belgian beer after Flanders victory or a glass of champagne after Tour de France?”

His answer might be one many didn’t see coming (especially if they read a former dodgy version of this blog's headline... it's been a long week): “Champagne is not my favourite, and I don’t drink a lot of beer. The best feeling is to get home to your bed and have a chill night without any stress.”

> “It’s official, post-ride beers are good for you!”: Tadej Pogačar’s agent claims he indulges in the odd pint after races to “recover and relax”

Tadej Pogačar drains his beer at the 2023 Amstel Gold Race (Zac Williams/SWpix.com)

Surprisingly, this would also come as another U-turn from Pogačar, whose agent literally less than 12 months ago claimed that he indulges in the odd pint after races to “recover and relax”…

Or maybe, it makes complete sense for an elite athlete with an immensely increasing amount of pressure to actually want to relax instead getting sloshed? I know a Slovakian former world champion who would disagree…

Paint is not infrastructure! 👀

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— Transport Action Network (@transportaction.bsky.social) 4 April 2025 at 15:34

More of Froome's Instagram tales...

> Chris Froome angrily takes to social media to share number plate of motorist who allegedly tried to drive into him “multiple times”, calling for her to “face the consequences”

On a day when active travel campaigners have urged for higher taxes to be levied on SUV owners, social media users have pointed out how a ‘Caution School Ahead’ sign on a bike lane, but not on the main road, might come off as duplicitous.

Cyclist and environmental campaigner Ola Løkken Nordrum posted the image of a Dublin bike lane with the sign, writing: “The car brain strikes again. Cyclists are warned to watch out for schoolchildren crossing the road, but are subsidised drivers of two-tonne killing machines (sorry, “hard-pressed SUV owners”) given the same warning? Of course not.”

Many agreed with Nordrum’s post, one person suggesting that it was “too late for April Fools”, while another said: “That’s at the end of my road, it’s been baffling me too.”

However, others pointed out that there would ideally be sign posts warning drivers that they’re approaching a school zone. One person wrote: “School children barely pay enough attention to notice cars, so they are less likely to notice a bike. Sometimes it's good to be reminded that there are pedestrians who pay so little attention that it almost seems deliberate.”

> “My head can only read this with Alan Partridge’s voice”: Homemade sign warns cyclists to “slow down for NHS sake” through village – “not racetrack”

Recently, we reported that a headteacher of a junior school in Cumbria had expressed excitement at the prospect of new cycle lanes being built outside the school to enable more children and families to make safe and active journeys to and from the site. However, the local councillors didn’t share the same level of excitement, many claiming the proposed infrastructure would “shrink” space for motorists and slow down traffic.

Last month, another segregated cycle lane near a London primary school was in the news, with a cyclist claiming that it was “blocked twice a day by parents parking illegally” during the school run, the council apparently dismissive of the issue suggesting "it doesn't matter because it’s only twice a day”.

Following on the quite nice-looking Pogi merchandise that came out of the Strade Bianche crash, showing him battered and bruised rising out of the bushes, a man on a mission, (with a surprising quick turnaround time too), the world champion is back with some more t-shirt merch offerings.

With the next two weekends marking some of the most anticipated races of the calendar, with Tour of Flanders this Sunday and Paris-Roubaix the next, Pogačar has released a tee-shirt with himself, his trusty Colnago and a few *wink* goats on the French cobbles.

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Tadej Pogačar (@tadejpogacar)

“Happy to announce collaboration with Fette for project Paris-Roubaix Course,” wrote Pogačar on social media. “The all new T-shirt design but Fette team is already online on www.tadejpogacar.com. This project is to help me get through Hell of the North, but more importantly goes for good cause to Tadej Pogačar Foundation. See you everyone first this Sunday on Ronde van Vlaanderen and next sunday Roubaix.”

> Active travel campaigners call for higher taxes on “supersized” SUVs to tackle “carspreading”, claiming they are more dangerous to cyclists and pedestrians and cause more pothole damage