Tiesj Benoot about online critique becoming hard to deal with for young riders: "Someone like Cian Uijtdebroeks with physical problem has a harder time with it"
Cycling
Tiesj Benoot has plenty experience as a professional cyclist, and that also includes dealing with criticism. As a rider for one of the most prominent teams in the world, it's not always praise he reads online. But with age comes wisdom, as they say, and Benoot let online haters get under his skin anymore.
At the same time, however, he notices that younger riders are increasingly struggling with social media, as he tells Het Laatste Nieuws. "That the average Joe gives his opinion on everything and does it more crudely than he would ever dare to do face-to-face, is typical of this time. When I turned pro eleven years ago, Twitter was different. Not all the morons were on it yet, haha."
He himself says that it doesn't bother him much. "But recently there was another one of those dull and unpleasant ones... I won't mention his name, because he doesn't deserve it. When I shared a video of the team the day after Strade Bianche, in which Wout and I are training in Tenerife, he responded: 'There was a small race in Italy, but feel free to continue with your EPO treatment.'"
It was not his first interaction with this user. "When we wore time trial helmets during the reconnaissance of the Omloop, he also responded: 'Too bad about Tiesj Benoot's floppy ears. All that effort for nothing.' I replied: 'Should I have them taped to my head?' And then he replied: 'Tiesj, I think Pantanti once had surgery on his floppy ears, so you can do something about it. Aero is everything.'"
Benoot took a look at his Instagram account. "He was clearly very right-wing and he seemed sour to me. So I can certainly understand it, but I can imagine that someone like Cian Uijtdebroeks, who has a physical problem and has also openly said so, has a harder time with it as a young rider. Remco Evenepoel also had his difficulties with that and has grown into it over time."
He then also discusses Mou, the name behind the Twitter account that stood out by predicting a number of things about Pogacar. "I find it funny and he dares to make bold predictions. Last year he was spot on a few times in the run-up to the Tour, but I do have a problem with the anonymous aspect. It's too easy. If you're wrong, no one can blame you."
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- Gee, they cant keep their mouths shut for 15 days! Talk after Roubaix if the man didnt deliver, not now.Caralladas31-03-2025
- hoping wout can “kick start” his season at de ronde just shows why hope is a terrible strategy. the hardest race of the classics season with both pog and mathieu on stratospheric form. good luck. and waiting for mvdp to eventually be “not as good” isn’t a great plan either, i think. matthieu only seems to keep getting BETTER.OCexile31-03-2025
- Too much amatuer psychology. How about this: "he was never as good as when he had not suffered multiple career-threatening injuries." What is happening to him is what happened to Alaphilippe, Bernal, and others. You will notice that his two major peers -- MVDP and Mads - are both at their all time best. You will also note that neither is coming off of anything like the same last 18 months that Wout is. Go back to 2022, then roll the tape forward with Wout remaining healhty and one of them having had multiple traumatic falls. Odds are good he'd be at his dominant best and they would not.MidnightRider31-03-2025
- Raymond Poulidor, Alfredo Binda.... where do we stop. If you want to retitle it is Primoz Roglic the bestr rider never to win the tour in the last ten or 20 years then that might be betterslappers6631-03-2025
- Let me help you. Alfredo BindaUpHill31-03-2025
- He'll certainly last it and prob ride his own race, at the front 😁
leedorney31-03-2025 - Gaio Primus Caesar Roglus, Rome is waiting for you, Imperator :-)).
maria2024202431-03-2025 - And he probably wasn’t even at the limit ;-) Have to wonder how much Mads could catch up if he’d tune his physique to be as sharp as MVDPs’Mistermaumau31-03-2025
- Respect for giving Van Eetvelt credit there.Mistermaumau31-03-2025
- He’s already a star for me for HAVING complained about it, the recent trend having been, let them then try to take advantage by making them sign NDAs ;-)Mistermaumau31-03-2025