Cycling
The woman who allegedly threw a hat at Mathieu Van der Poel’s wheel during Paris-Roubaix on Sunday wants to turn herself in. It concerns a Flemish woman, the Nieuwsblad was able to find out. In the meantime, one beer thrower from the Tour of Flanders has been identified.
(Jan Claeys, Peter Malaise)
Today at 7:07 PM
Two weeks in a row, cyclist Mathieu van der Poel became the victim of unsportsmanlike supporter behavior. TV images showed how a woman threw a cap at the Dutch cyclist’s rear wheel about 40 kilometers before the finish of Paris-Roubaix last Sunday. That could have led to a technical defect or a fall.
The woman in question, who wishes to remain anonymous, was present in a VIP tent near the course where several companies had invited guests. “We have been organizing that day for sixteen years,” says Olivier Orlans of Eventor. “When we saw the images, we did not think the woman was part of our party. She was not wearing a lanyard (a lanyard, ed.) to enter our tent. But we asked all our customers if they knew the lady in question.”
A company informed Eventor that the woman was at the event upon their invitation. “They told us that the woman would turn herself in (to the organization or to the police, ed.).” She is said to be a fan of Mathieu van der Poel, which would indicate that she did not deliberately aim the hat at his bicycle. “If it was deliberate, then as an organization we obviously find that scandalous,” says Orlans. “But everyone has the benefit of the doubt. It is now up to the woman in question to tell her story.”
The French professional cyclists’ union (UNCP) will press charges against the woman and will receive the support of the international cyclists’ union CPA. “We are going to track down that person, that’s for sure,” Adam Hansen, president of the CPA, told Global Cycling Network. “But we are dependent on national federations for legal proceedings, because we are located in Switzerland.”
The CPA and the UNCP previously ensured that a woman who caused a massive crash in the Tour de France in 2021 had to pay a fine of 1,200 euros.
Beer shower again
The Belgian riders’ union BPCA previously filed a report against fans who threw beer at Van der Poel during the Tour of Flanders. The police confirmed on Monday that one of the beer throwers is clearly in view during the third ascent of the Oude Kwaremont. “He has not yet been interrogated, but he can expect an invitation,” says Joost Duhamel of the Flemish Ardennes police zone.
“The incidents in Paris-Roubaix resulted in new tips about the beer throwers during the Tour. These are people who believe that things cannot continue like this. Rightly so. First throw a beer, now a hat. Where is it going to end? We have to set limits on that behavior.”
