Florian Vermeersch received threats after helping Ganna chase down Van Aert

Vermeersch appeared on Vive le Vélo, Leve de Ronde, n Thursday evening, as Belgian media continued building up to the Tour of Flanders. The biggest race of the year clearly has emotions running high, but in this case they spilled far beyond the limits.

Online abuse is unfortunately everywhere in 2026, so Vermeersch initially shrugged off the messages that started arriving on social media from frustrated cycling fans. The Belgian said he was branded a “traitor” and a “coward” after the race.

Some Belgian fans had already been unhappy with Vermeersch after the E3 Saxo Classic, when he sat on in a chasing group during the finale and Mathieu van der Poel went on to win. In Dwars door Vlaanderen, by contrast, Van Aert was out in front, but Vermeersch did not give his compatriot a free pass.

The criticism did not only arrive in Vermeersch’s private inbox. There was also plenty of abuse in public online spaces, enough for presenter Karl Vannieuwkerke to apologize on air. “Because we are responsible for the commentary,” he said.

Vannieuwkerke added: “By saying in commentary that Ganna won thanks to you, while you were also racing for your own result.” Vermeersch brushed those apologies aside, but he did speak openly about the threats that followed.

According to Vermeersch, he was genuinely shocked by the reaction and the messages. “It was the first time I received hateful messages and small threats. Something like that had never happened to me before. It really got to me for a while, but I’ve been able to put it in its place now.”

“I don’t blame you for anything, but it is confronting, because I didn’t expect it to affect me this much,” said the Belgian, who also wanted to place the issue in a broader context. “I also realize I’m not an exception. It happens every day, but this was the first time I was on the receiving end of it, and it hit harder than I expected.”