With 42 km remaining of Sunday’s Paris-Roubaix, someone on the side of the road threw a cap toward the wheels of eventual winner Mathieu van der Poel. And they may end being in big trouble for a very irresponsible move.
The UNCP (Union Nationale des Cyclistes Professionnels) is preparing to submit a report to the French authorities. As seen during the race, footage showed a spectator on the left side of the Dutch cyclist who seemed to hurl a cycling 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.
Fan to be taken to court
“We use the national federations to take them to court,” CPA president Adam Hansen told GCN. Since the French members of the CPA (Cyclistes Professionnels Associés). The UNCP is tasked with notifying local authorities about the incident since the race occurred in France, the Australian said.
“So the CPA can’t do it because we’re a Swiss organization. So in this case the French association, the UNCP, can take the individual to court,” the former pro said.”They’ll file their report to the local authorities. And they’ll do a full investigation. We’ll find that person, that’s for sure.”
At the Tour of Flanders, a spectator on the roadside threw beer at the Dutch rider.
The spitting incident
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.
La señora (a la izquierda) que quiso decidir la carrera lanzando una gorra a la rueda trasera de @mathieuvdpoel… @parisroubaix #ParisRoubaix @Juan_Clavijo_ @Lujimmix @kapelmuur29 @javierares @albertocontador @Eurosport_ES @alixeurosport pic.twitter.com/70vg4pHIEA
— Xavi García 🩵 (@javiere307) April 7, 2024
“What happened? Nothing. Just a bunch of booers. It was the whole race. It already started during the warm-up. I’m done with it. If you do, you better stay home. I’m done with all the booing,” he explained.
“What did they shout? You better ask them yourself. I’m not going to repeat that here. These are certainly not things that belong in sports. There shouldn’t be any boos for anyone. After a while, it’s enough, even for me,” he…
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