Remco Evenepoel's behaviour after Tour de France stage splits fans after words to fan

Tour de France fans have been left divided after footage of cycling star Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step) appearing to tell a young fan to move out of his way made it onto social media. Evenepoel, 25, who finished third last year, endured something of a nightmare in Lille Metropole.

The Belgian struggled through the crosswinds on the opening stage and failed to make the front group of 33 riders, finishing in 67th place - 39 seconds behind winner Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck). It was a frustrating performance for Evenepoel, who was also far behind general classification rivals Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) and Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike).

As the Olympic road race champion made his way towards his team bus at the end, a young boy was waiting for him, armed with a book he was hoping to be signed by Evenepoel. Instead, the rider decided not to give the youngster his autograph and waved him away with his hand.

While Evenepoel has since insisted that he did give an autograph to the fan minutes after that specific incident, the clip has still divided fans.

One fan instantly attacked the Belgian, writing: "It is very hard to like Remco," before another said: "I know it's common knowledge to ask for pictures and autographs before the race. But I feel like Remco was kinda rude here. (And I'm saying that as a Remco fan)."

A third cycling fan who was particularly disgusted by him tweeted: "Wouldn't expect anything more from him. The kid was more polite than he was. He thinks his colour is gold but we always see his true colours when he loses."

However, many fans defended the East Flanders born racer, stating the young fan should know that it's respectful to ask for autographs before a race. One fan commented: "It's ok to not sign this all the time," before another added: "You shouldn't bother a rider right after a stage that's common knowledge."

A third also tweeted: "Hey, looks bad, but if you have never raced and had a really bad day or bad fortune, back off. Adrenaline and anxiety are still really high."

After cottoning onto the barrage of social media criticism he was receiving, Evenepoel took to Instagram to defend his actions, while also stating that he did return to the youngster to give him his autograph. On his Instagram story, which has one million followers, he wrote: "For everybody who is speaking or typing (s***).

"I gave the boy, and 20+ others, a signature and a selfie after I rode on the rollers and recovered a bit and took a shower. I will never let young kids stand in the wind. Thanks for only showing negative stuff media."

In another post on his Instagram story, he uploaded a video of himself signing autographs to a large number of spectators and posing for selfies.

In the caption, he added: "What the media didn't show you. After cooling down and freshening up, I made time for the kids and fans at the bus. Spread love not hate."

Evenepoel will be hoping for better luck on Stage Two, which will be heading north from Lauwin-Planque, moving towards the Channel at Boulogne-sur-Mer.