Adrie van der Poel irritated with beer thrown at Mathieu during Tour of Flanders: "I understand that the police are now looking for the perpetrators"
Cycling
Mathieu van der Poel has won the Tour of Flanders for the third time, but his triumph was not without it's adversity. The World Champion did not go through the Belgian climbs without boos, middle fingers and beer. Naturally, this was upsetting for his father Adrie van der Poel who comments on the topic.
“I understand that the police are now looking for the perpetrators. But should you punish them? I will leave that open," Adrie van der Poel told Het Laatste Nieuws. “I also hear that Flanders Classics is filing civil proceedings. That's how they make their point. I think we need to be quick on the ball. A hefty fine might hurt some. It's disrespectful. I don't think these people realize what other riders have to do to achieve top performance. Not everyone has to be a fan of Mathieu. Then I would say: turn around and don't clap.”
Flanders Classics organizer Thomas van den Spiegel has already said that there is a search to identify the spectators which have thrown beer at van der Poel. The same happens at cyclocross events, where the same measures are being implemented. The Dutchman was not hampered by these happenings, but they leave a stain in what was a spectacular victory.
“Mathieu must have also heard that there was a huge amount of encouragement. I think that's nice... It would be a shame if sponsors dropped out because of the behavior some showed on Sunday," Adrie adds. "Cycling is an accessible sport and we should keep it that way. We should not turn a blind eye to the few people who throw beer. I also don't think they take anything away from Mathieu's joy that he won this Tour of Flanders.”
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A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
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Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
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- He should have been allowed to go to Movistar. Right now both arent a good fit for each other and are just wasting each other's time and effortabstractengineer08-11-2026
- Thibau Nys does exactly what Iserbyt is calling for
Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026 - i did not see it. was the relegation justified or an overly hard decision? and don‘t cross riders deviate from straight lines all the time? bumping into each others when they cut corners, etc … why being more strict with the rules on the finish sprint?Ketterechts08-11-2026
- seems like we are advertising the website with pointless comments…Ketterechts08-11-2026
- So?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- The UCI do have their favorites.
Front24208-11-2026 - On a positive note, you maybe notice turning this topic into a discussion has the benefit of eliminating certain participants who do not see how they can turn it back to their sole interest ;-)Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- People see what they want to. I am actually the opposite of your accusation, probably more of a rebel than most of you who don’t get the big picture. The difference is, I don’t go moaning publicly about the consequences of my transgressions, I understand the need for rules and I take my OWN responsibility when deciding to ignore or break them or doing so involuntarily. I will also not hesitate to state my case or argue vehemently when relevant, sometimes it works, sometimes it makes things worse but that’s the price to pay for principles and having character.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- That may be but that was unknown to others and nothing says that’s the whole truth. Again, don’t try to misinterpret, it is a call and technically it is correct. Besides, even if there is a valid reason, that does not disqualify the ruling or punishment as far as the rules have been developed. I don’t think they’re as far as in football where for handball there is a distinction (in some ways and specific cases) between intentional or not. And football can be just as harsh and people live with it, eg the offside rule, also judged to within tiny fractions but often wrong or ignored. It’s the nature of every collective organisation and sometimes I wonder if our rebellion against it isn’t seated in the feelings we carry from the injustices we’ve felt personally, like being flashed driving 1km/h too fast when we are explained limits are just a security measure but we are absolutely certain not to have endangered anyone with our transgression. The problem is, nobody has better solutions and no 2 people have the same interpretation of where a limit should be.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- Because for you deviated implies the other rider MUST have been made to fall and fail to finish ??? I don’t know if you ride a bike but next time someone carves you up or drives dangerously close, just hold back from those feelings of changing something, reporting or filming or even complaining. Everyone will just say, hey you’re still here undamaged, doesn’t seem like anyone did anything.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
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The only three riders able to get up the Koppenberg 😮 Mathieu Van der Poel, Matteo Jorgenson and Mads Pedersen were the only ones at the front of the men's race to make it up the cobbled climb without being forced to walk or put a foot down 💪 📷 Getty Images
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