The fan who almost brought Mathieu van der Poel down during yesterday’s X2O Trofee Loenhout-Azencross will not face prosecution and has apologised, saying he feels “so guilty” about the incident which “wasn’t my intention at all”.

The spectator, who was led away and questioned by police but released without charge, told Belgian broadcaster Sporza that he wishes to apologise directly to the Dutch rider, who overcame the scare to comfortably win his 17th consecutive cyclocross race, a remarkable run that, extended further, has only seen him beaten once in the discipline in almost three years. 

Despite his visible frustration in the moment, Van der Poel told the TV cameras after his win that he did not feel like the fan’s contact was intentional and that “people are often so enthusiastic about cheering that they forget there are still riders coming”.

While the event’s organisers initially expressed a desire to see action taken against the spectator, footage later emerged from the barriers, the video more clearly showing that the fan had been cheering the lead riders as they passed when he made contact with Van der Poel’s handlebar.

“I really have nothing against Mathieu van der Poel,” the spectator, who has not been named, told Sporza. “I feel so guilty – it wasn’t my intention at all. I love cyclocross very much, so this is the last thing I wanted to happen. I would like to apologise to Mathieu once again.”

Christophe Impens, the managing director of the event’s organiser Golazo, initially called the incident “annoying” but wanted to look at the bigger picture when commenting later once the video had been shared and the man released by police.

“Look, there were 15,000 fans here who behaved exemplarily,” he explained. “This was an unfortunate incident. Hopefully, Mathieu doesn’t take it too seriously and we can resolve this amicably. He also wants to apologise to Mathieu personally.”

Ultimately, it had no bearing on the result, the world champion extending his remarkable cyclocross winning run. Van der Poel now hasn’t tasted defeat in the discipline since the Benidorm World Cup round back in January 2024 and has rolled off 17 consecutive victories since.

That Benidorm defeat itself came at the end of a 15-race winning run, meaning Van der Poel’s cyclocross record since late January 2023 stands at 31 wins and just one defeat (fifth place in Benidorm).

Van der Poel did admit “it was a shame” how Monday’s win played out, not because of the fan incident, but because of Wout van Aert’s untimely puncture which ended any hopes of another classic battle between the two great rivals. 

To make matters worse, Van Aert punctured again later in the race and dropped out of podium contention entirely. The pair will next meet at Zilvermeercross on 2 January before the World Cup round in Zonhoven on 4 January.