Spectator who threw hat at Mathieu van der Poel during Paris-Roubaix a target of investigation: "We’ll find that person"

At the Tour of Flanders Mathieu van der Poel was thrown beer several times by spectators, as well as being shown middle fingers as seen in the Oude Kwaeremont. At Paris-Roubaix he continued to have fans try perturb his race, as he was thrown a hat. But there is a search for that spectator and attempt to implement consequences.

As the World Champion rode by himself with 42 kilometers to go, victory was beginning to seem more and more certain. There was little that could prevent him from doing so, such as a crash or a freak accident. One such spectator wondered the same thing, and right in front of the TV camera threw a hat into the wheels of the Alpecin-Deceuninck rider. Luckily it did not cause a crash or anything of the sort, but it was captured on camera and immediately noticed by fans and others alike.

It is likely that the UNCP (Union Nationale des Cyclistes Professionnels) will file a complaint whilst Adam Hansen quickly wrote on X that "yes, we take action against them. Like the CPA did in Flanders." In the meantime, in words to GCN, the head of the CPA confirms it: “We use the national federations to take them to court... They’ll file their report to the local authorities and they’ll do a full investigation. We’ll find that person, that’s for sure.”

The Australian rider, who was also the face of the implementation of a chicane before the Trouée d'Arenberg recently, tells that this method has already worked in previous years such as for example the 'Opi Omi' incident at the Tour de France: “We’ve got good experiences from this in the past, if you look back to what happened at the Tour de France when Tony Martin was taken down by a spectator and the UNCP took that person to court and that case was won. So we do file actions and that person was fined."