Talk to a Social Media specialist today: 01332 776910 or 0115 824 8242
  • Connect with us on:

Exclusive: Brailsford tells cyclists: Get used to social media abuse

Posted on June 28, 2015

Professional cyclists need to accept they’re going to get abuse on social media, according to the general manager of the INEOS Grenadiers team, Sir Dave Brailsford.
In an exclusive interview with Status Social, Sir Dave says cyclists need to adapt to criticism over networks such as Twitter and Facebook.
He also reckons cyclists should avoid using social media immediately after a race.
Read the full interview with Sir Dave, recorded at the Derby Arena velodrome:
Status Social: Sometimes cyclists and other sports people get very affected by what’s posted on social media, especially Twitter. How should they handle that?
Sir Dave Brailsford: Well it’s like everything in life, you adapt to it. The whole point of society is that people have different views and that is the way it is. I think you have got to embrace that.
It is the diversity of thinking and the diversity of opinion that makes it an exciting place to live. Therefore you have to take the good with the bad. You don’t let it get to you too much, you don’t take too much notice of it and you just move on.
Status Social: Do you encourage the riders to use social media? Is there a policy?
Sir Dave Brailsford: No, we don’t have a policy as such – it’s pretty obvious some of the dos and don’ts, it goes without saying. But I think it is important that people have their own voice and they can air their own views.
Social media is a good thing; it is a healthy thing. As long as social media isn’t misused and sometimes straight after a race when everybody’s all fired up, it probably isn’t the best time to be tweeting. But as long as everyone is sensible, I think it is a great medium and it is to be embraced.
Status Social: You’ve been involved in cycling for a long time. What kind of an impact do you think social media has had on cycling?
Sir Dave Brailsford: The impact of social media has been massive on cycling and within society. We are all adapting and learning all the time. One of the greatest benefits is that it has allowed cycling and all sports to have a dialogue with fans directly. It has changed the way we think about communication.
Instead of having one-way communication, now we can have the opportunity of having a dialogue which I think is very, very important. I think we are all trying to learn very, very quickly and move and adapt to see how we can all benefit the most to use social media and get the greatest things out of social media, like fan engagement, particularly for teens but also from an educational point of view, to promote the opportunities that exists.
From a cycling point-of-view, here at Derby Arena we are using social media so we can tap into young people to let them know about opportunities that exist here. How can they go about getting down here? What do they do when they get here? All those things to make it easy. I think that is how we use social media these days, to benefit everybody in the community.
Tweeting drivers keeps F1 interesting, according to a top team boss.
Find out more about how Status Social can help your business generate profits.
(This article was edited in November 2020 to reflect the change of the team name from Team Sky to INEOS Grenadiers.
 

One thought on “Exclusive: Brailsford tells cyclists: Get used to social media abuse

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *