"I have to admit I had quite a bit too much to drink" - Mathieu van der Poel's Paris-Roubaix bidon thrower apologises in first public comments

Last Sunday's incredible battle at Paris-Roubaix 2025 saw some fiery riding on the bike. It was one instant of an overzealous crowd member over-stepping his boundaries that dominated the post-race talk though, as race-winner Mathieu van der Poel was attacked by a 'fan' at the roadside, who threw a full bidon right into the face of the Alpecin-Deceuninck leader.

Now, in an exclusive interview with HLN, the culprit (who remains unnamed ed.) and his lawyer, Peter Desmet have addressed the public for the first time, apologising to Van der Poel for his actions in the process.

“Of course, my first and foremost intention was to apologize to Mathieu van der Poel personally,” begins the bottle thrower's apology. “I’m so incredibly glad that, despite my stupid action, he still managed to cross the finish line first on Sunday. But at the same time, I realize I owe an apology to every rider and every cycling fan out there.”

Somewhat unsurprisingly, it turns out alcohol had played a part in the idiotic actions. “We arrived around 11 a.m. We had a few drinks in the tent nearby while waiting for the riders to come through the section we were standing at," he recalls, admitting that the amount of drink consumed had clouded his judgement considerably. "And yes, I have to admit I had quite a bit too much to drink.”

The fact that the bidon thrown was yellow and seemingly a Team Visma | Lease a Bike bottle did lead some to believe that it was a rogue Wout van Aert fan attempting to help his hero. This though, proved far from the truth. “Out in the grass between the tent and the cobbled road, I saw a yellow bidon lying there. It was probably thrown away earlier by one of the junior riders," he explains. "Without thinking much about it, I picked it up. It wasn’t completely full, but there was still some liquid inside.”

“Mathieu van der Poel approached, and as he passed, I made that stupid decision – I threw the bottle. Why did I do that? I’ve been asking myself that question over and over again, and I still don’t have an answer. It was just a terribly foolish impulse. I can't explain it any other way. Was I a fan of Wout van Aert trying to sabotage his rival? Absolutely not – I don’t even have a favourite rider,” he continues, revealing the immediate regret he found afterwards. “I felt awful the moment it hit him. Within half a second I already regretted what I had done. On the one hand, I was so relieved he didn’t crash. But why did I do that? How could I have been so stupid? What’s going to happen to me now?”

“That one stupid second has landed me in the middle of an enormous media storm. It feels like everyone’s talking about me. I know I was wrong and I’ll take responsibility, but I really hope things can calm down soon,” concluded the bottle thrower's address.

Finally, lawyer Peter Desmet made a comment on the legal side of the matter. “My client will take legal responsibility,” he insisted. “Of course, we would prefer to resolve this privately, but he also understands that people want to make a point of principle. The incident happened in France, while both the accused and the rider live in Belgium. That makes things legally complex. But we will accept whatever consequences follow.”