Professional riders like Mathieu van der Poel and Remco Evenepoel face a lot of scrutiny. However, both know how to handle it appropriately.
On social media, riders like Mathieu van der Poel and Remco Evenepoel receive an enormous amount of messages and comments, but they don’t pay much attention to them.
“I stay away from responding to people who comment about me,” says Mathieu van der Poel in Titanen. “Because then you end up in an endless back-and-forth. One of my favorite quotes is ‘Winning an argument with someone smart is hard, but winning an argument with someone stupid is impossible.'”
According to Mathieu van der Poel, it’s impossible to win a discussion on social media. He often talks about this during training sessions with Remco Evenepoel, who receives even more criticism than the world champion.
Strong mindset
“He’s often the center of attention on social media these days. For instance, they say that he always has an excuse when he doesn’t win. The same people who criticize him will shamelessly praise him to the skies when he wins a major race.”
But the two do not get caught up in toxic reactions. “You need to have a strong mindset to deal with it. Remco has it. And so do I,” concludes the Dutchman.
