The Vuelta a España opened with a Monaco time trial on August 22, 2026, and Slovenian rider Tadej Pogačar won it to take the race leader's jersey. Vuelta organizers had given Spanish influencer Erola Jons official backstage access to produce social-first content aimed at younger fans. After the stage, Jons interviewed Pogačar on camera, calling him "Pogachita," asking "Why do you hyperventilate every time you see me?" and commenting on riders' bodies and clothing. Pogačar replied, "What? I breathe 24/7." The clip spread beyond official channels over the next two days. Journalists and fans criticized it, and UAE Team Emirates-XRG, Pogačar's team, formally complained to organizers. On August 24, the Vuelta barred Jons from the mixed zone, team buses, and podium checkpoints, while keeping her on for the race's digital channels.

1. Press Critics (Eurosport's Laura Meseguer)

Meseguer says the interview disrespected the women who fought for a place in the sport.

Vuelta was wrong to hire Jons for this job. Eurosport journalist Laura Meseguer said it was "a serious mistake to hire someone with absolutely no knowledge of the sport, whose content will be based on this series of sexist comments that we women have been trying to escape from for decades."

The interview showed real disrespect. Meseguer said it showed "a lack of respect towards us, towards the female professionals working here and, above all, towards the cyclists."

Women had to fight for this space. Meseguer said, "Many women have spent years fighting to expand our space in a male-dominated sport, so that we are treated with respect and have the same opportunities as everyone else."

2. UAE Team Emirates-XRG

Our rider got questioned like that on camera. That's an access problem, not a culture debate.

The team went straight to organizers, not social media. UAE Team Emirates-XRG filed a formal complaint with Vuelta organizers over how its race leader was approached on camera.

UAE Team Emirates-XRG's complaint is only about access. The team's complaint sits alongside, but separate from, the press criticism as one of the two triggers organizers cited for restricting Jons's access to riders and team buses.

3. Vuelta Organizers

Keep the influencer, just keep her away from the riders.

Organizers didn't fire Jons — they restricted where she can go. The Vuelta barred Jons from the mixed zone, team buses, and podium checkpoints, and asked her to "adapt the tone and style of her posts to the context of a top-level sporting event."

Organizers are keeping their plan to reach younger fans through Jons. Organizers' position is that "the role of an influencer to engage young people in the sport can be combined with traditional journalism and press," meaning Jons keeps producing content for Vuelta's own channels for the rest of the race.

4. Erola Jons

Jons says the backlash means her content is working.

Jons treated the reaction as a win, not a warning. After the Stage 1 broadcast, she said, "We broke the internet."

She's not changing course. Jons told her audience, "Don't worry, because we're going to keep pushing forward, of course."

Where This Lands

Meseguer's camp says the hire itself was the error, built on comments women in cycling have spent years pushing back against. UAE Team Emirates-XRG treated it as a narrower problem: how Jons accessed and questioned their rider on camera. Vuelta organizers compromised: Jons keeps her digital role but loses direct contact with riders. Jons herself isn't backing off; she's reading the attention as validation.

Sources