Mathieu van der Poel rages at Paris-Roubaix bottle attack - 'This is attempted manslaughter'
Published 14/04/2025 at 08:28 GMT+1
Mathieu van der Poel called out "attempted manslaughter" after being struck in the face by a bottle during his solo win at Paris-Roubaix. The Dutchman urged police and cycling authorities to act, saying it could have broken his jaw. Despite the shocking moment, Van der Poel still powered to a historic third straight victory after rival Tadej Pogacar crashed awkwardly at a corner on debut.
Spectator throws bottle in Van der Poel's face in shocking Paris-Roubaix incident
Video credit: TNT Sports
Mathieu van der Poel has called for legal action after being struck in the face by a bottle thrown from the crowd during his solo charge to victory at Paris-Roubaix.
Van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) was powering towards a third straight Roubaix crown when the incident happened, having gone clear after Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) crashed while overcooking a corner.
His advantage hovered at around 20 seconds when, on a cobbled sector, a yellow bottle came flying from the roadside and struck him in the face. Thankfully, it bounced clear, and Van der Poel pushed on to cement his place in the Roubaix history books.
Speaking afterwards, Van der Poel said it was "like a stone hitting my face".
"We can't let this slide," he told Sporza. "It was a full water bottle and it hurt a lot. If I get that water bottle on my nose, it's broken.
"Hopefully the police can identify the man, because there has to be a trial for this. This is attempted manslaughter. If the UCI does not take action, then we will do it with the team."
- 'Scumbags' - Outrage as spectator throws bottle in Van der Poel's face
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He added later: "It doesn’t destroy the fun I had but it’s not normal, it was a full bottle, it was like a stone hitting my face.
"It’s not acceptable, if they spit or throw beer it’s still unacceptable but this is different. This is something we have to take legal action on."
It is not the first time Van der Poel has been targeted by spectators.
He was spat at during his triumphant attack at E3 Saxo Classic last month, while he confronted fans who jeered him at a cyclo-cross event in Hulst in 2023.
"Just scumbags," Adam Blythe said about the latest incident on TNT Sports commentary.
"I can't believe someone is doing this. It's just beyond belief. Good news is it didn’t affect him - but yeah, disgusting. Just do one. Don’t bother coming out."
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'Came in way too hot' - Pogacar crashes after overcooking corner
Video credit: TNT Sports
It had looked set for a blockbuster finish between Van der Poel and Pogacar until the world champion crashed with 38km to go while trying to engineer an escape.
He knew Van der Poel likely had the edge in a sprint and was trying to force a move, but carried far too much speed into a corner.
After untangling his bike - with help from fans - Pogacar remounted and briefly closed the gap to 15 seconds, but soon fell back and ultimately swapped bikes before his challenge faded for good.
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