6 days Ago By Simon Smale
A man who threw a full bottle of water at Dutch racer Mathieu van der Poel during this year's Paris-Roubaix cycling race has handed himself to police, according to Belgian newspaper Het Nieuwsblad. on his way to a third-consecutive victory in the queen of the classics. The 30-year-old Dutch rider, a 10-time world champion across road, cyclo-cross and gravel cycling disciplines, was leading the 259.
2 kilometre one-day event with 33km remaining. The Dutchman shook off the incident and continued on his way to victory but was furious at the incident when asked about it by media at the finish line in northern France. "I got hit in the face with a bottle at 50 kilometres per hour.
That's enough to break a jaw," van der Poel said. "We can't just let that slide." He added in a further interview with Sporza that the incident was akin to "attempted manslaughter".
Van der Poel also had beer thrown at him during the race by spectators, who have no restrictions on how close they are able to get to the sport's biggest stars on the side of the road. Mathieu van der Poel was showered in beer as well during the race. French police confirmed that an investigation had begun into the incident.
"An investigation was opened into the charge of violence with a weapon in order to identify and arrest the perpetrator," Lille prosecutor Carole Etienne wrote on X. Cycling's governing body the UCI expressed its support for the former world champion. "The Union Cycliste Internationale and the associations representing the families of cycling unanimously condemn, in the strongest terms, the unacceptable behaviour of a spectator during the 122nd edition of Paris-Roubaix from the side of the road on 13 April," the UCI said in a statement on Monday.
"Such behaviour cannot be tolerated in the context of a cycling event. "The UCI and representatives of cycling's families express their support for the rider and will explore, in conjunction with the competent authorities, all the legal channels at their disposal so that such behaviour is duly and severely punished, as has already been the case in the past. "They will take the same action in the future against any act that threatens the physical integrity of riders.
" Cyclists often have to dodge cheering spectators on the side of the road. Spectators have previously been fined for causing crashes on the side of the road, . Van der Poel's Alpecin-Deceuninck team said later on Monday that they were seeking sanctions over the bottle throwing, describing it as "a dangerous and unacceptable incident".
"We will be filing an official complaint against the perpetrator to formally denounce this behaviour," a team statement read. "This issue goes beyond that single act. Too often, we observe that such misconduct is either caused by or accompanied by excessive alcohol consumption.
"It jeopardises the safety of our riders, overshadows the enjoyment and reputation of genuine cycling enthusiasts, and diverts attention from the sporting achievements." ABC Sport Daily is your daily sports conversation. We dive into the biggest story of the day and get you up to speed with everything else that's making headlines.
Van der Poel, one of cycling's modern greats, has repeatedly been the target of abuse from spectators, perhaps stemming from his intense sporting rivalry with Belgian favourite Wout van Aert. Earlier this year, van der Poel was spat at by a spectator during the E3 Saxo Classic, a race he also won. Van der Poel has been criticised for hitting back at supporters who have overstepped the mark.
In 2023, van der Poel reacted to frequent beer-throwing during a cyclo-cross race in Hulst by spitting at a group of spectators on the side of the course. In 2022, van der Poel was arrested at his hotel, just hours before he was due to compete in the men's UCI World Championship Road Race in Wollongong, after allegedly assaulting two girls who he claimed repeatedly knocked on the door of his room during the night at the Novotel in Brighton Le Sands. , but more tellingly was unable to finish the race the following day, one he was favourite to win.
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