It will be nice for Van der Poel to hear however, that he can count on some of his arch-rivals for support. Arguably his most historic rivalry is that between the
Alpecin-Deceuninck leader and Team Visma | Lease a Bike's
Wout van Aert. Off bike though, there seems to be a lot of mutual respect between the pair, and Van Aert has recently spoken out in support of his nemesis amidst the ongoing crowd troubles.
"People who behave like that are not welcome on the race as far as I’m concerned," said Van Aert in quotes collected by
Het Laatste Nieuws. "Cycling is a sport where you can get close to the athletes and that makes us unique compared to many other sports."
"I really enjoyed the thousands of supporters on the sidelines yesterday and in recent weeks. But our sport is dangerous enough without people starting to throw things at us from the crowd," added the Belgian. "I applaud Mathieu for expressing himself so strongly and I hope it helps to prevent this from happening in the future."