Van der Poel and the water bottle thrown by a fan during Roubaix: the reactions

Rome, 14 April 2025 - The scene is not exactly unprecedented when it involves Mathieu van der Poel and the location is the Belgium, possibly in the winter cyclocross races where evidently the less healthy part of the long-distance rivalry with Wout van aert. However, it also happens sporadically on the road, and it happened in the recent E3 Saxo Classic 2025, another race won: that day the Dutchman had been 'welcomed' by the spit of a 'fan', while in the mud of cyclocross the most popular substance is beer, if not something of a similar color. The son and grandson of art has always cashed in with style, leaving the investigations of the case to the organizers of the races and the police, but what happened to Paris-Roubaix 2025, with the throwing of a full water bottle, could not go unnoticed.  

What happened: Van Der Poel's reactions, the investigation and the 'fan's' regret

Prompted on the subject immediately after the exploit in the velodrome, Van der Poel had clearly spoken of an attempted murder against him, due to the weight of the object thrown at him, the proximity and the difficulties inherent in a race in which much of the fortunes (or misfortunes) revolve around balance. Even before, a unanimous condemnation of the reckless person on duty had started on the web, to identify whom the gendarmerie had mobilized in silence instead of the organizers. The scoundrel in question took care of closing the matter, handing himself over to the police in Belgium, to be precise, that of the mandate of Mira, as confirmed by the prosecutor's office West Flanders.

According to the newspaper Het Nieuwsblad, the man immediately declared himself sorry for the gesture which he said was committed in a moment of madness, but who knows whether behind his step back there was not the fear of legitimate threats of legal action by theAlpecin-Deceuninck and the same Van der Poel, who had spoken of throwing a one-kilo object. In short, there were and are grounds for a complaint for assault and injury, but the repentance of the reckless man could overturn everything, or perhaps not, because what happened to 33,1 km from the finish line of the Paris-Roubaix 2025 it is neither an unprecedented and isolated fact nor a superficiality.

The parochialism between Netherlands e Belgium, with note Van der Poel e Van Aert as emblems of two opposing factions, often results in deplorable acts, and the third Classical Monument of the year, although on French soil, takes place a few kilometres from the Flanders: precisely the presumed origin of the culprit of the water bottle throw, so 'courageous' to attempt such a gesture, only to then disappear into the crowd immediately afterwards, and then evidently frightened by the threats of denunciation by Van der Poel and his team. However, all this did not spoil the Dutchman's celebration, at his third Paris-Roubaix in a row, as well as the eighth Monument total: a big party because, as confessed by the son of Adrie and grandson of Raymond Poulidor, his spring campaign effectively ends like this, with a bang.

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