Paris-Roubaix spectator who threw cap at Mathieu van der Poel says she’s a ‘fan’

The Belgian woman who allegedly threw a cap at Mathieu van der Poel’s wheel during Paris-Roubaix on Sunday, wants to turn herself in, according to Het Nieuwsblad.

In both of his recent Monument wins Mathieu van der Poel was harassed by spectators. TV footage showed how a woman threw a cap towards the back wheel of the Dutch cyclist about 42 km before the finish of Paris-Roubaix last Sunday.

As seen during the race, the footage showed the spectator on the left side of the Dutch cyclist who seemed to hurl the cap towards the rider’s wheels. Fortunately, van der Poel escaped unscathed from the incident, but such reckless behavior could have resulted in a potential crash or, at the very least, slowed him down had the cap become entangled in his wheels. The woman in question, who wishes to remain anonymous, was present in a VIP tent near the road where several companies had invited guests.

“We’ve been organizing that day for sixteen years,” Olivier Orlans of the race company, Eventor, said. “When we saw the footage, we didn’t think the woman was part of our company. She didn’t wear a lanyard, to be able to enter our tent. But we asked all our clients if they knew the lady in question.”

The woman was at the event at their invitation of organizer

“They told us that the woman would turn herself in to the organization or to the police. She is said to be a fan of Mathieu van der Poel, which would indicate that she did not aim the cap at his bike on purpose. If it was deliberate, then of course we as an organization think that’s outrageous,” Orlans added. “But everyone has the benefit of the doubt. It is now up to the woman in question to tell her story.”

The French Union of Professional Cyclists (UNCP) is going to press charges against the woman and has the support of the international cyclists’ union CPA. “We’re going to track down that person, that’s for sure,” Adam Hansen, president of the CPA, said.

“But we are dependent on national federations for legal proceedings, because we are based in Switzerland.”

The CPA and UNCP have a history of locating spectators responsible for incidents and taking them to civil courts. There was the case of the “Opi/Omi” spectator who caused a major crash during the 2021 Tour de France who was ultimately fined 1,200 euro.

Beer spray incident at Flanders

After the beer spraying incident at the Tour of Flanders the Belgian riders’ union BPCA filed a complaint against fans. The police confirmed on Monday that one of the beer throwers is clearly visible during the third ascent of the Oude Kwaremont.

“He has not yet been interrogated, but he can expect a visit from us,” Joost Duhamel of the local police confirmed. “Because of the incidents in Paris-Roubaix, new tips came in about the beer throwers during the Tour. These are people who think that things can’t go on like this. And rightly so. First throwing beer, now a cap. Where is it going to end? We need to set limits on that behavior.”

This is the third time in four months that van der Poel has had unruly fans harass him. In December, at the UCI Cyclocross World Cup in Hulst, people were throwing beer (or something worse) at the world champion as well. Ultimately MvdP would spit at them, fed up with the constant harassment.