Puck Pieterse speaks out after bottle attack on Van der Poel: “That kind of thing is just not acceptable”

Mathieu van der Poel’s third straight triumph at Paris-Roubaix should have been the headline story from the weekend. But instead, much of the attention has been diverted to a now infamous moment when a spectator hurled a bottle at the Dutchman, hitting him in the face during the race.

Van der Poel later described the incident as “attempted manslaughter,” and the individual responsible has since turned himself in to the police.

Unfortunately, this is not the first time van der Poel has been the target of dangerous behaviour from fans, similar incidents have occurred in both road and cyclocross races over the past few years.

Among those to condemn the act is Puck Pieterse, reigning mountain bike world champion, cyclocross star, and white jersey winner at the Tour de France Femmes. Speaking to De Telegraaf, she said, “That kind of thing is just not acceptable. This is something different than a plastic cup of beer, although nothing can be justified.”

Pieterse also expressed concern over the increasing hostility riders are facing across disciplines.

“It is very sad that there are people who go to the race thinking: 'I am going to throw that water bottle at Van der Poel later'. In women's cycling we also experience things being shouted and thrown at your head. Last year in the Tour de France I was riding behind Marianne Vos and a cup of beer was thrown at her too. And in cyclo-cross, you know. At some point there are a lot of drunk people who no longer know what they are doing.”

Away from the controversy, Pieterse has been enjoying a strong start to her own season, even if a first win still eludes her. “That victory is not there yet,” she admitted. “I do know that the world's best are at the start in these races and that my places are somewhere in the top-10. I need a really good day for that outlier.”

This weekend marks her debut at the Amstel Gold Race, and the Dutch rider is eager to perform in front of home fans. “It will be my first Amstel, which I am really looking forward to. Last weekend I explored the hills in Limburg and in Liège.

“I think it is really cool that this race is in the Netherlands. I am looking forward to that whole atmosphere with fans from our country and of course some more friends and family will come to watch. If I can ride on the podium here, or even win, that would be really cool.”

Pieterse also confirmed that mountain biking remains firmly on her radar this season. “MTB is definitely in my program. I want to perform in the classics, but a bigger goal is to show my rainbow jersey as much as possible. These hill races are also a very good prelude to mountain biking.”

Meanwhile, her close rival Fem van Empel recently announced she would be taking a break from racing to prioritise her mental health, a decision Pieterse fully supports. “I think that can happen to anyone. I think it is often a combination of circumstances. Fem has ridden more cyclo-cross races in the winter than I have and has been feeling the pressure of that rainbow jersey for years.

"Road cycling is so different from mountain biking and cyclo-cross. It should not become an obligation, otherwise things will go wrong. I notice that I enjoy it even more because of the variety of disciplines.”

For such a young rider, Pieterse appears to have wisdom way ahead of her age. Perhaps that is why she is one of the most promising young riders in the sport, and should be a star for years to come.