The spectator who spat at Mathieu van der Poel during last month’s E3 Saxo Classic has been identified by the Belgian police and fined an amount up to €350 (around £300), but will not face further prosecution, officials in East Flanders have confirmed.
The incident took place as the Alpecin-Deceuninck rider was leading solo with around 30km to go en route to a dominant second straight win at the Belgian classic on 28 March.
The spitter was seen in the broadcast footage standing at the side of the road holding a beer, as the Dutchman crested the Karnemelkbeekstraat following his race-winning attack.
Police in Ronse launched an investigation shortly after the incident, appealing for witnesses and condemning the behaviour as “unacceptable.” The perpetrator later admitted to the act when identified and is set to be fined, but the case will not be taken further.
Following widespread condemnation of the spectator’s actions on social media, the Belgian police had previously issued a statement: “We want to send a clear message that we absolutely do not tolerate this kind of act. We call on supporters to show their love for cycling in a respectful and sporting manner during the upcoming races.
“Cycling is part of our heritage. Everyone who is part of it, whether it concerns signallers, police officers, emergency workers, or the athletes themselves, deserves respect from the spectators.”
> Mathieu van der Poel spits at “booing” spectator on way to 7th straight cyclocross win
Van der Poel, who wasn’t aware of the incident during the race, told Sporza: “Those are people who are better off not coming to watch the race. I can’t change anything about it myself… Is it something that keeps repeating itself? Unfortunately, yes.”
The 30-year-old’s father, former Tour of Flanders winner Adrie van der Poel, also weighed in: “If you come to the race with that intention, you should stay home.”
The spitting incident is the latest in a string of unpleasant spectator interactions involving the Dutch star, who has previously been on both sides of spitting controversies. In December, during a cyclocross race in Hulst, he retaliated against heckling fans by spitting at them himself, earning a €250 fine from the UCI.
The Alpecin-Deceuninck rider also had a hat thrown at his bike by a spectator at last year’s Paris-Roubaix, an incident which saw the woman responsible accused of intentional assault and battery. He also had beer thrown at him at the 2024 Tour of Flanders.
More recently, another spectator-related controversy made headlines during Van der Poel’s victory at Paris-Roubaix on Sunday, when a ‘fan’ hurled a Visma-Lease a Bike water bottle at him as he led solo through the Templeuve-en-Pévèle sector.
A day later, the man responsible handed himself in to police. Yesterday, he was identified as a labourer in his 20s from Waregem, who in an interview with Het Laatste Nieuws expressed remorse, saying that he was “really ashamed” and had been drinking before the incident.
“I saw that yellow bidon in the grass and picked it up. It wasn’t full, but there was still some in it,” he said. “When Van der Poel passed, I made that stupid decision and threw it. I’ve been asking myself why ever since, and I don’t have an answer.”
He continued: “Within half a second, I already regretted throwing it. That one stupid second caused me to end up in a media storm. I know I was wrong and I’ll take responsibility.”
Van der Poel called the bottle attack “attempted manslaughter” in an interview with Sporza, pointing out the danger of being hit at high speed by a full bidon. “It hurt a lot. If I get that water bottle on my nose, it’s broken,” he said. “If the UCI doesn’t act, then our team will. This isn’t beer — this is something else entirely.”
Alpecin-Deceuninck and the UCI both released statements confirming they would pursue legal action, with the team formally lodging a complaint.
10 thoughts on “Spectator who spat at Mathieu van der Poel at E3 Saxo Classic faces £300 fine, but escapes further punishment”
Perhaps one of our Belgian
Perhaps one of our Belgian readers could tell us, does this find mean that the spectator gets a criminal record? In the UK spitting is criminal assault so it would do, if he gets away with just paying a relatively small sum and there are no other consequences one would say he’s been rather fortunate.
Belgium is lawless and they
Belgium is lawless and they don’t give a fig. They also hate their neighbours, as do their neighbours hate them. They cannot even speak Dutch properly!
Theres only 2 things I can’t
Theres only 2 things I can’t stand in this world. People who are intolerant of other peoples cultures…and the dutch.
On ch5s police shows, guilty
On ch5s police shows, guilty pleasure of mine, catching wrong’uns in cars, many of the police have stated that they would rather be slapped than be spat at. They all take this form of assault very seriously.
I used to watch a few of
I used to watch a few of these. For a while it greatly improved my esteem for some of the police (the ones they picked, while they were in front of TV cameras).
The shows where they announced the court results at the end? That suggested the system is more like “catch-and-release” fishing.
The slight increase of the
The slight increase of the ban when caught driving while banned is always disappointing, but the rozzers do seem to be trying their best.
IMHO he should be prosecuted
IMHO he should be prosecuted to the full extent possible and band from all sporting events for a VERY long time. Otherwise there is no real detertent for other such idiots (other words are availble).
Anything else and the authorities will come up with some really stupid law that bans all beer from cycling events or bands sectators….both of which would be a disaster!
There is nothing worng with having a beer and watching a live sporting event, its a day out enjoy the spectical…..what is wrong is interferring with a sporting event!!!
Rant over….I will go and have a lie down in a darkened room.
Pedal those squares wrote:
How can that be imposed, when road cycling is on open roads?
Same way many other things
Same way many other things are imposed. Vague oversight and the threat of far more serious punishment if you are caught doing the thing you have been banned from doing. We don’t tag people with GPS devices to stop them going with X metres of the person who has a restraining order for example.
dubwise wrote:
A court – in the UK at least – can very easily impose an exclusion order banning a person coming within X distance of a place where an event is being held.