The cap throw at Mathieu van der Poel looks more malicious than we first thought

Some new footage has surfaced of the Belgian woman throwing the cap at Mathieu van der Poel during Paris-Roubaix, and oh boy, it looks bad.

The woman from Belgium who purportedly threw a cap at Mathieu van der Poel’s bicycle wheel during Sunday’s Paris-Roubaix race reportedly intends to surrender herself, as reported by Het Laaste Nieuws. In both of his recent Monument victories, Mathieu van der Poel encountered disturbances from spectators. Television footage revealed a woman tossing a cap toward the rear wheel of the Dutch cyclist approximately 42 km before the finish.

Spectator wanted to remain anonymous

During the race, the footage captured the spectator on the left side of the Dutch cyclist, appearing to launch the cap towards the rider’s wheels. Fortunately, van der Poel emerged unscathed from the incident. Nevertheless, such reckless conduct could have led to a potential accident or, at the very least, hindered his progress had the cap become tangled in his wheels. The woman involved, who desires anonymity, was present in a VIP tent by the roadside, where multiple companies had extended invitations to 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.”

Damning evidence

Het Laatste Nieuws has published a video captured by a spectator positioned on the opposite side of the road. This one had a different angle from what was broadcasted on TV. This footage not only distinctly depicts the spectator throwing a hat towards van der Poel’s wheels.

The incident occurred on the 10th cobblestone section of Merignies in Avelin. In the official race footage, a woman can be glimpsed quickly aiming a cap at the rear wheel of an unsuspecting Mathieu van der Poel. Whether this act was entirely intentional remained ambiguous from those initial images. Thewoman involved previously spoke through her lawyer, attributing it to “an unfortunate maneuver after an afternoon of aperitifs along the cobblestones. She stressed that she had not consciously thrown the hat.

Not an accident

However, the newly surfaced images clearly leave no room for doubt: her actions were deliberate. Captured from an alternate angle, these images reveal the woman patiently waiting for Van der Poel to approach. Then, she swiftly targeted his spokes with the cap. It’s evident there was no accidental gesture involved.

Check out the video below:

Our so-called lovely Belgian lady, who claims to be a fan of Mathieu van der Poel and does not know how her hat ended up in the direction of Mathieu in Paris Roubaix 2024, is apparently a big liar. Look at these images and shudder. pic.twitter.com/9zcdpZ1Snu

— UrbanSteel (@UrbanSteel) April 14, 2024