Visma-Lease a Bike team boss Richard Plugge says his staff have been left “shaken” after two seemingly intoxicated spectators attacked their team car during yesterday’s stage of the Settimana Internazionale Coppi e Bartali, punching the window and attempting to steal a bike from the roof rack.
However, according to reports emerging from Italy, eyewitnesses have claimed that the “aggressive” incident was sparked when a Visma staff member threw a bottle from the team car, hitting the spectator’s vehicle.
The shocking scenes took place with around six kilometres left of the Italian race’s fourth stage to Valdobbiadene, won by the Ineos Grenadiers’ Axel Laurance, moving him back into the overall lead with one stage remaining.
A video posted online, filmed by a passenger in another race vehicle, shows one of the spectators standing on the Visma-Lease a Bike car’s roof, as he appears to attempt to remove one of the squad’s bikes from the rack.
As the driver tries to move away, the man falls off the roof, before another spectator punches the car’s driver-side window twice while shouting at its occupants.
Follia… pic.twitter.com/wSkCS122Pr
— Las Nicho (@Nicholas_EffeTi) March 28, 2026
In a statement released on Saturday evening, Visma-Lease a Bike claimed the two spectators were “intoxicated”, and that while no damage was caused, the confrontation had been reported to both the police and the race organisers.
“One of them climbed onto the team car of Team Visma-Lease a Bike and attempted to remove a bike from the roof. The other supporter behaved very aggressively towards the occupants of the car,” the squad said.
The team’s manager, Richard Plugge, also said: “We take this incident very seriously, as it put the safety of our colleagues at risk.
“Our staff on site immediately went to the police and also reported the incident to the race organisation.
“In the end, no equipment was stolen and no damage was caused. The colleagues in the car are okay, but understandably shaken.”
However, according to a report in La Gazzetta dello Sport, a different version of events has circulated in Italy, reportedly supported by fans standing on the side of the road who witnessed the incident take place.
These reports suggest that the two men were reacting to the Visma staff member’s decision to throw a water bottle out of the car, hitting the wing mirror of one of the spectator’s vehicles and sparking the “reckless” reaction.
7 thoughts on “‘Drunk’ spectators jump on team car roof, try to steal bike, and punch window during race, as Visma-Lease a Bike say left staff “shaken” by “aggressive” incident”
Should the rest of the drivers and mechanics in the cavalcade not come to the assistance?
Oh, well, that’s alright then – entirely understandable that you’d react with mindless violence and vandalism to that – can’t blame them at all…
The public perception is that the larger levels of sponsorship money have gentrified cycling and stamped out hooliganism. The truth is that it never went away and has been driven underground.
In the 1970s, I was a member of the Holdsworth -Campagnolo Critters. We all wore orange and blue jerseys, caps and Shimano black cleated shoes and had the death head orange and blue skull tattoo. We used to love a good dust up with rival fans at the tour of Britain or even European races, before we got banned.
Before a punch up we would get tanked up on isotonic drinks, fruit bars and rice cakes.
I’ll never forget the day we got stuck into the Molteni lads on the Croix de Fer. They were swanning around and giving it large in their designer sponsored sunglasses and small size Italian slim-fit gear. It was a great ruck. Giuseppe wasn’t giving it large anymore when I booted him in the face until his teeth came through his bottom lip. I had three broken knuckles after that stage. What a buzz!
Later on we set fire to the Mavic display tent.
The fights these days are organised on social media have a lower profile and tend to take place outside cycle shops. They don’t get reported coz it would scare off sponsorship.
Anonymous – Bermondsey
Great memories mate.
I was with the Critters. Had the first pair of oxblood 24 lacehole Sidis with Look cleats.
Christened them when we took the Dutch corner on Alpe d’Huez. Broken Heineken bottles and teeth everywhere.
A few stages later we smashed up that coffee and patisserie shop near Limoges!
Big Dave – Deptford.
Bottles were thrown from the car window? Aren’t there laws against that sort of thing? Didn’t Italy strengthen laws about chucking stuff from cars last year? I read somewhere about a maximum fine of €18k.
Guessing maybe they were kindly tossing used bidons to fans, rather than arbitrarily dumping their rubbish?
Bottle hits car. Car owner attempts to steal bike in retaliation. Makes total sense.