Men Elite 🏆 at the final UCI CX World Cup of 2023: 🥇Mathieu van der Poel (NED) 🥈Joris Nieuwenhuis (NED) 🥉Lars van der Haar (NED) @SportPic_Agency #CXWorldCup
"Are we still living in prehistoric times or the Middle Ages perhaps?" - Niels Albert does not blame Mathieu van der Poel for Hulst controversy
CyclocrossSunday, 31 December 2023 at 18:00
'Spitgate' as some termed it, was only one of the many incidents that took place during the Hulst World Cup, but the one that has gotten the most attention. However few blamed Mathieu van der Poel following the race. Cyclocross legend Niels Albert also comes out in defense of the World Champion.
“Sad, what happened on Saturday in the final of the World Cup cross in Hulst. I read here and there that Mathieu should have controlled himself. Easy to say. As an athlete you are always in the weakest position in such a situation," Niels Albert told Het Laatste Nieuws. "You cannot stop at full speed and 'those men behind the wire' know that. That makes them extra tough. I don't approve of it at all, but as a rider I could still place that somewhere in my head. We've all experienced it. It becomes more annoying if the yelling continues for weeks. And we are completely off track when urine is involved. That's not normal anymore, is it? Or are we still living in prehistoric times or the Middle Ages perhaps?”
Albert points out at the bad behaviour of some fans, which unfortunately is occasionally the time in the discipline. In the final lap of the race, which took place in the Netherlands, van der Poel spit at someone in the crowd. After the race he admitted that he was tired of having booing fans and that he was already being mocked since the morning during the recons. He later retweeted a post on Twitter which claimed that he was thrown beer and urine from those fans.
“Then the story just stops and... you, like Mathieu, go crazy. It is the last straw that pushes your frustration to a peak and makes your pot boil over," Albert continues. "You react on impulse. All understanding. Look, it's simple: I think I would have stopped and lashed out instead of Mathieu, who has no ranking to defend. As we once saw Richard Groenendaal do. And Bart Wellens, with his karate kick in full effort.”
In the past similar situations have developed, although not in this specific way. Whilst there was certainly backlash against how the Alpecin-Deceuninck rider reacted on his way to victory, after he explained the situation in the interview, most agreed that it was a justified move. “It would have been stronger than myself, I'm afraid. There are limits, right?" Albert questions.
"During this end-of-year period, they focus on the football that is at a standstill and the supporters who occasionally come to the cyclocross. But that's too easy. In reality it is about - with all due respect to everyone - some drunken monkeys who stood in the back row when the wits were handed out and think that they can come and be the big hero on the cross.”
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