"Maybe I need to crash": the cyclist with the fewest followers on the Tour has some ideas to grow on social media

In an era where a cyclist's fame seems to be measured as much by their watts as by their followers on Instagram, Vito Braet has become a rarity within the peloton of the Tour de France 2025. At 24 years old, the Belgian from the Intermarché-Wanty team is, with just 1700 followers, perhaps the cyclist in the Tour de France with the fewest Instagram followers out of the 184 who started in this edition.

The Tour cyclist with the fewest Instagram followers has some ideas to change that

According to Cycling Weekly, Vito Braet is the cyclist with the fewest social media followers out of all those who started the Tour 2025. Although he himself acknowledges that he is not very active on social media and does not quite understand why anyone would want to follow him.

Originally from Harelbeke, in the heart of the Flemish Classics, Braet is competing in his first Tour. However, his sporting career suggests that he deserves more attention: after reaching the WorldTour in 2024 with Intermarché, he finished third in a stage of the Vuelta a España and shone this spring in the Classics, finishing fifth in the Koksijde Classic and twelfth in Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne.

RECOMENDADO

Specialized Turbo Levo 4: prices, models, and features

How to adjust your bike to avoid injuries and ride more comfortably

10 tips for safer and faster downhills on road bikes

Injuries kept to a minimum, no equipment needed, and done in no time

Weights and prices of all the new Shimano XTR Di2 group: drivetrain, brakes, wheels, and pedals

How to improve in cycling when you have little time

According to the team's press officer, as confirmed to Cycling Weekly, Braet has received more media attention during this Tour than the French riders on the squad, thanks precisely to his performance in the one-day races. Still, he hasn't heard many cheers with his name on the roadside. "I saw it written on a piece of cardboard once, but it was from my family. Still counts, right?", he says with humor.

He knows how he could increase his follower count, but his role as a luxury domestique for Biniam Girmay prevents him from implementing the first strategy. "All cyclists say that when they are in the breakaway, they gain followers. Or if you crash, like Georg Zimmermann did, who gained 500 followers after his fall. I prefer to stick with my 1,700 than to crash," he says.

Not everything in the Tour de France is measured by millions of followers, but a little visibility wouldn't hurt @vito_braet either.