The culprit has now come forward to the police, admitting his error of judgement, but according to Eurosport and TNT Sports expert Matt Stephens, there should be not leniency handed out.
"First and foremost, it’s an assault because someone’s thrown an object clearly with intent - quite remarkably accurate. We’ve seen it in cycling before, we saw it in Roubaix last year. An example needs to be made of this person," Stephens, himself a former British national champion, told
TNT Sports' Ultimate Cycling Show. "Whether they were drunk or not, whether it was just reckless. If it was intentional, it’s far more serious."
As mentioned, Van der Poel himself called the incident "attempted manslaughter” and Stephens can easily see why. "If he had come down and fractured his skull or something, we’ve got to realise that’s why Van der Poel is saying ‘attempted manslaughter’ because he was moving at speed on cobbles," explains the Brit. "He could have face-planted and it could have been a career-ender or worse."
"That sort of thing needs to be stamped out and if the right sort of action isn't taken, all it does is open the door for other people to do the same, almost with impunity," adds Stephens in conclusion. "We’ve seen this in our sport, it has no place and I hope the law comes down very firmly on that spectator to set an example to say: ‘In our sport, this is not acceptable.’"