Mathieu van der Poel’s team, Alpecin-Deceuninck, will file a complaint against the spectator who threw a water bottle at the winner of Paris–Roubaix.
The Dutchman was hit in the face by a full bidon on his way to his third successive victory in the Hell of the North.
"It was a dangerous and unacceptable incident," said Alpecin-Deceuninck, according to Sporza.
“We are relieved that Mathieu was unharmed and confirm that as a team we will file a complaint against the perpetrator to denounce the behavior.”
Is alcohol to blame?
The WorldTour team says it wants more drastic action to ensure rider safety in the future.
“We want measures to follow to keep people with bad intentions away from cycling races,” says the team.
“Too often we notice that the misconduct is the result of – or at least goes hand in hand with – excessive alcohol consumption.”
Alpecin-Deceuninck says incidents such as Sunday’s are an escalation of “earlier facts”. A spectator was filming spitting at van der Poel during the E3 Saxo Classic in March.
“During other competitions too – both on the field and on the road – we found that misconduct by a few has far-reaching consequences," says Alpecin-Deceuninck.
“It means that the safety of the riders cannot always be guaranteed, it overshadows the enjoyment and reputation of true cycling enthusiasts and it distracts from the sporting achievements.
“We will follow the further course of the legal procedure internally, so that the misconduct does not receive more attention than it deserves. But we are pushing for consultation with and cooperation between all parties involved (riders, teams, federations, organisers and governments).
“Measures must be taken to keep people with bad intentions away from cycling races and to take more proactive action at known critical points.”
The man who threw the bottle at van der Poel reported himself to the police.
Van der Poel described the incident as “attempted manslaughter” and stated that “Ww can’t let this pass”.
The UCI’s reaction
It’s not only van der Poel and his team who have spoken about the incident. The UCI also released a statement condemning the action.
“The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) and the associations representing the families of cycling (CPA for the riders, AIOCC for the organisers and AIGCP for the teams) 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,” it said.
“Cycling is one of the few sports that offers such proximity between athletes and the public during events. This is one of its assets, both for the riders themselves and for the spectators.
"However, this particularity implies an increased responsibility for spectators at an event, whose behaviour can not only influence the course of the event, but also, and even more seriously, endanger the physical integrity of the riders.”
