Tadej Pogačar ‘WAG’ Gag Goes Viral at Tour de France Femmes

Tadej Pogačar switched into superfan mode over the weekend to cheer on partner Urška Žigart, and a Belgian TV presenter spotted an opportunity that was simply too good to pass up.

Sporza’s Linde Merckpoel approached the five-time Tour de France winner during Sunday’s Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift finale and interviewed the world’s No. 1 cyclist as if he were just another anonymous boyfriend cheering from the side of the road.

“Do you cycle, too?” she asked.

Pogačar got the joke immediately and played along.

The tongue-in-cheek clip has since exploded on Instagram, topping 2 million views and more than 140,000 likes.

The idea was to flip sport’s WAG concept on its head. And Pogačar delivered comic timing to a T.

A play on WAGs

Sporza wanted to find the male partners of Tour de France Femmes stars and treat them like cycling’s answer to WAGs, the “wives and girlfriends” who end up in the headlines at major sporting events.

Merckpoel’s crew had contacted Žigart’s team, but Pogačar was out for a training ride that morning.

Then they spotted the world champion on course in a camper van along the Col d’Èze climb.

Merckpoel approached Pogačar unannounced and quickly pitched the idea. He was all in.

“I explained the concept to Pogačar in one minute and he actually immediately realized where we wanted to go,” she said on Sporza. “You also notice that when you watch the video, Pogacar is so smart and funny. If you make such a sketch, the tone and timing are crucial. Otherwise it’s just cringe. But now I had the perfect opponent.”

They stepped behind the camper van to shoot the segment, with Žigart’s father stepping in to keep curious fans out of the shot.

Pogačar commits to the bit

Pogačar, decked out in a T-shirt and hat, happily played along as the superfan boyfriend.

When asked what it was like living in Žigart’s shadow, he leaned straight in.

“It is sometimes difficult to be ‘the boyfriend of’. I try to support her as much as possible and be a good friend, but she is a better partner,” he said in dead-pan delivery.

And yes, apparently he even rides a bike occasionally as well.

“I cycle with her. Sometimes she drops me and sometimes I have to let her go,” he said. “I mainly like to go just for coffee.”

Those are some solid comic chops for a guy who had won his fifth Tour de France a few weeks ago.

Cycling’s HAB moment has arrived

Merckpoel then presented Pogačar with a custom T-shirt, with HAB — “Husbands and Boyfriends” — on the front, a blue arrow pointing up, and a collage on the back.

Pogačar loved it.

He immediately pulled it on and snapped a selfie. Pogačar wore it for the rest of the stage and photos went viral on social media.

“At first we thought he was just trying to do us a favor, but he had the shirt on the whole stage,” she said. “I think that’s really part of his success. He stands firmly on the ground with both feet.”

Pogačar wasn’t the only UAE superstar embracing support-crew duty at Femmes.

Teammate Isaac del Toro was also roadside over the weekend cheering for partner Romina Hinojosa, who became the first Mexican rider to finish the Tour de France Femmes.

Cycling’s super couple switches roles

Less than two weeks earlier, Žigart had been in Paris celebrating Pogačar’s fifth Tour de France victory.

Pogačar put his Vuelta a España preparation on the back burner and fully embraced superfan mode to return the love.

He was spotted cheering Žigart on Mont Ventoux, where his enthusiasm saw him break just about every unwritten rule of cycling fan etiquette.

Žigart, who broke her jaw just weeks before Femmes, finished 19th in Sunday’s final stage and 48th overall.

And Merckpoel saved perhaps the best part of the gag for last.

“Sorry, I forgot to ask your name?”