Tadej Pogačar off the pace and in trouble the day after his Tour of Flanders dominance

For once, Tadej Pogačar was off the pace and in trouble, sparking a call from an official for him to hurry up and some derision from the crowd. 

While Mathieu van der Poel enjoyed a quiet day off, Wout Van Aert did a 90 minute gravel ride and Lotte Kopecky and her team SD Worx-Protime visited a chocolate factory, Pogačar and his partner Urška Žigart were in the headlines for all the wrong reasons on Monday, after disturbing a match at the Monte Carlo Masters tennis tournament. 

Pogačar managed to fly home on Sunday evening after completing the Tour of Flanders podium ceremony and headed to the Monte Carlo tennis club on Monday afternoon to see Yunchaokete Bu play against Lorenzo Musetti. 

He and partner Urška Žigart had secured VIP seats but broke the unwritten rule of entering the match arena during a game. Yunchaokete Bu was disturbed during his serve by their movements and the match was interrupted as Pogačar and Zigart descended the steps and tried to find their seats.    

"Please go to your places. We are waiting for you," the match official said bluntly, with the crowd quickly seeing them and whistling and booing in disapproval. 

Pogačar seemed to smile at the whistles but was also embarrassed and quickly found his seat. 

He and Urska are professional athletes but away from the major races and especially in Monte Carlo, they were treated like any other sports fans.