What is wrong with people, is what you may ask when you hear what happened to UAE-Emirates rider, Florian Vermeersch.
The Belgian recently spoken out after being targeted with a wave of online abuse following the closing moments of Dwars door Vlaanderen. He was understandably floored by the nasty messages.
In comments on Vive le Vélo, as reported by WielerFlits, Vermeersch said he was blown away at all the crap he received after his late effort alongside Filippo Ganna to close down Wout van Aert. Sure, they are both Belgian–but professional cycling, and he’s on another team. Heck, we had the Yates brothers on rival teams, even.
The move ultimately helped bring Van Aert back within reach. But bizarrely, it also drew anger from some fans, with Vermeersch receiving insults and even threats after the race.
“It shocked me,” he said. “I’d never experienced anything like that before. For a while, it really got to me more than I expected.”
Vermeersch said that while abuse directed at athletes has become increasingly common, it felt different experiencing it firsthand.
On the bike, the Belgian said he was simply racing for the best possible result. That’s…normal.
“That was my last chance to win,” he said, and said that a late cramp ended his hopes in the finale.
The hate from cycling ‘fans’
And he’s right–we’ve seen several instances of nasty, nasty stuff hurled at pros. What looked like a brutal crash on the Cipressa during the women’s Milan-San Remo was one thing, the reaction online was another entirely. While the riders escaped without serious injury, the comment sections turned toxic fast, and it didn’t go unnoticed. Cécile Lejune admitted she went digging through the replies and came away rattled by what she found.
After comments section pile on post Cipressa crash, Cécile Lejune has had enough
“I was very upset by what certain people were choosing to share about it. Certain comments stuck with me all evening and were bothering me all throughout my Sunday ride,” she said. “The following may not do much to change the situation. But it’s my way of dealing with the anger I’m carrying right now.” She later reposted some of the remarks calling out the cruelty followed a brutal, brutal crash.
Wiebes and the worlds
Then there was Lorena Wiebes leaving the 2025 track worlds with two rainbow jerseys, and a reminder of how ugly things can get online. The SD Worx–Protime sprinter won gold in the team sprint and elimination race, which was great. But her week ended with a brutal Madison crash.
Back on Instagram, Wiebes said she was “okay under the circumstances.” She then shared a screenshot of a Facebook comment wishing her “as many broken bones as possible” and calling her “the most unsportsmanlike woman there is,” adding dryly: “People are so nice these days.” It’s not new territory either, after last year’s gravel worlds, both she and Yara Kastelijn were targeted, prompting the Dutch cycling federation to step in and condemn the abuse, calling the personal attacks “completely unacceptable” and urging people to think twice before piling on.
There’s also all sorts of weird stuff that happens IRL during races with so-called fans, but that’s a whole other story. Hopefully, the more these things are addressed, the more people can remind folks that this stuff ain’t OK.