“Oh no, not this again”: Fans accuse Flemish media of celebrating International Women’s Day by referring to Urška Žigart as “fiancée of Tadej Pogačar”; Sir Jason Kenny to run London Marathon; Deceuninck says goodbye to pro peloton + more on the live blog

There’s press, there’s bad press, and then there’s your publication ‘getting accused of misogyny one day before International Women’s Day’ press…

At least that’s what is unfolding on social media with Flemish news website Het Laatste Nieuws, simply known as HLN, being criticised by fans for their headline in which they refer to Urška Žigart as “fiancée of Tadej Pogačar”.

For context, and for those who haven’t brushed up their Dutch in a minute, here’s what the headline and the first para translates to: ‘“Mom told me: 'Don't you see how much that boy loves you?'”: Urska Zigart, fiancée of Tadej Pogacar, looks back on eventful years’.

‘“I slept badly and thought every night: 'why my mother?' I can only say now that I feel okay. The sadness no longer blocks me. Now I want to ride a good race for her.” These are the words of Urška Žigart (28), rider at AG Insurance-Soudal, and also the fiancée of the best rider in the world, Tadej Pogačar. On Saturday, she will ride the Strade Bianche for women, but first our journalist Lies Vandenberghe visited her. For a conversation about love, cycling and the difficult grieving process after the death of her mother.’

> “Thank goodness she’s dating a famous cyclist, otherwise how on earth would anyone have identified her?” Urška Žigart goes agonisingly close at Tour de Suisse… only to be referred to as “Pogačar’s girlfriend” by Belgian newspaper

A screenshot of the article was shared on social media, with fans disappointed in the paper’s decision to include the Slovenian champion’s relationship with Pogačar.

Mike wrote on Bluesky: “Awful. Even worse than Le Figaro because, in this case, it’s persistent downgrading of a top athlete. What next? Angela Merkel, the wife of a physicist? Or Sophie Wilmès, widow of an Aussie Rules player? And tomorrow is International Women’s Day.”

Another fan said: “Even if her partner does happen to be the biggest most recognisable name in cycling mentioning him every time she does something in her own career is misogyny 101, it’s so embarrassing at this point for these newspapers!”

Yet another fan compared the situation with Amal Clooney, who happens to be an international human rights lawyer but still gets referred to as George Clooney’s wife.

> "Just Urška Žigart's boyfriend": Soigneur Tadej Pogačar on bidon duty for Slovenian women's team at World Champs

This is, of course, not the first time it has happened. Another Flemish newspaper Het Nieuwsblad was accused of doing the same in June 2023, when Žigart almost won the Tour de Suisse, with the peloton catching her superb breakaway ride with just 75 metres to go, only to describe her as “Pogačar’s girlfriend”.

We’ll be waiting for Pogačar to post another rebuttal to this sort of headline, perhaps this time something like, “Urška Žigart’s boyfriend wins Strade Bianche.” (What, you’re telling me he’s not won it yet? Oh…)

Big news from London’s Olympic Park! Will Norman, the city’s Cycling and Walking Commissioner, has shared a picture of the long-awaited improvements to the key junction, which are finally underway. While there’s a reason to be buzzing, seems like the good vibes come with a side of exasperation.

Norman wrote: “I'm very pleased to see the work underway on this key junction in the Olympic Park - making the area safer for people walking & cycling… if only it had been designed this way 15 years ago,” followed by a facepalm emoji.

It’s the classic infrastructure conundrum: progress comes, but often at a pace that makes snails look ambitious. For cyclists who’ve been navigating sketchy crossings or dodging oblivious drivers in the park since the 2012 Games, this might feel like a bittersweet victory. Still, better late than never, right?

Is Strade Bianche turning from a race for the classic riders to more for the climbers? Mathieu van der Poel’s teammate Gianni Vermeersch thinks so…

According to the Alpecin-Deceuninck rider, the course change made by the race organisers last year has discouraged classics riders to come to the Tuscan event, with the extra kilometres added with heavy climbing involved not suiting the likes of Wout van Aert and Mathieu van der Poel anymore.

“The charm of Strade Bianche was that the best grand tour riders and the best classics specialists raced against each other. But since the extra loop with Colle delle Pinzuto and Le Tolfe, the course has become too hard for that,” the former gravel world champion told IDLProCycling.com.

The organizers added an extra loop at the end of the course, featuring two additional steep gravel climbs. Vermeersch said: “Le Tolfe and Colle delle Pinzuto are two very tough sectors. We now do them twice now, and in between, the course is still undulating. That means you have to climb almost 400 extra vertical meters within just 30 kilometers. That makes a huge difference in this race. On top of that, Monte Sante Marie now comes much earlier—80 kilometers from the finish. Pogacar already blew the race open there, which in my view has completely changed the nature of the race.”

He added: “Purely as a race, Strade Bianche is one of my favorites, but last year the organizers made it longer. Now the race is 30 or 40 kilometers longer, mostly with climbs. That makes it more of a climbers’ race. It used to be a 50-50 split between climbers and classics riders.

“You would see riders like Cancellara, Stybar, Mathieu, and Wout — the more classics-oriented guys — at the front. But where I could still play a meaningful role before last year, it has now become really difficult for a classics rider to compete for a top result. The entire top ten now leans more toward climbers. That’s a bit of a shame because this was one of my favourite races, where I had hoped to one day achieve a great result.”

Vermeersch came close to winning the race in 2021 when he was in a group just seven seconds behind the leaders in the final, only for the Belgian rider to crash, unfortunately. He added that he’d be going to the race tomorrow, but not anymore with the hopes of winning.  

“With the course changes, that ambition has shifted,” he added. “I think it has become very difficult for a classics rider to get a top result here.”

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Intermarché-Wanty (@intermarchecw)

Just look at him. How does anyone go up against him?

Pogi ready for Strade 🫡

🎥: Trattoria La Tellina pic.twitter.com/FxYT8xL5BM

— Lukáš Ronald Lukács (@lucasaganronald) March 6, 2025

A few comments from under the video…

“No need for him to train this section he’s about 3 minutes ahead at this point.”

“Won't even need to sprint up there…”

And my favourite one: “Pog went so fast he actually went back through time. You may think he's training but he's actually finishing the race.”

After three years of being a title sponsor in the WorldTour peloton, Deceuninck is set to depart at the end of current season as title sponsors for the Belgian men’s and women’s pro cycling teams, Alpecin-Deceuninck and Fenix-Deceuninck.

The Belgian PVC windows and doors manufacturer had come on as the title sponsor for the team previously known as Alpecin-Fenix in 2022. Before that, they were the sponsors for another Belgian team Soudal-QuickStep, then known as Deceuninck-QuickStep, from 2019 to 2021.

2023 Alpecin-Deceuninck MerciPoupou jersey

Despite not continuing as the title sponsor, it’s reported that Deceuninck will stay on as a minor sponsor, with their logo still appearing on the kits — similar to how Fenix stopped being a title sponsor for the men’s team three years ago but still had their logo on the shorts for a while.

In a press release issued by Deceuninck, Francis Van Eeckhout, Executive Chairman, said: “The successful collaboration has delivered the desired results in terms of brand awareness for the company.

“In consultation with the team management, we have come to the conclusion that we can continue to strengthen each other in a different form of partnership.”