Paris-Roubaix spectator who threw bottle at Mathieu van der Poel hands himself in to the police

A man has turned himself in to the police after Mathieu van der Poel was hit in the face by a bottle thrown from the crowd during his Paris-Roubaix win yesterday.

As the Dutchman soloed to a third successive victory at the Hell of the North he was struck by an item thrown from the crowd on a sector of cobbles, the bottle appearing to be a Visma-Lease a Bike-branded water bottle.

This morning Belgian news outlet Nieuwsblad has reported a man turned himself in to the police in West Flanders and has expressed regret at his actions. He is yet to be identified but the report suggests he turned himself in in Mira, a spokesperson for the West Flanders public prosecutor's office confirming the news and a source suggesting: "He is said to be very ashamed of what he did on impulse on Sunday."

Bizarrely, the report also suggests the spectator travelled to the race on a supporters' bus of the Matej Matjes, a Flemish fan club for Slovenian cyclist Matej Mohorič. The board of the fan club declined to comment officially, but was keen to stress that the man is not a member of the club and the bus was open to the public.

The bottle-thrower was reportedly not known to the fan club's board and members have been told this morning that he is no longer welcome at any club activities.

A spectator throws a bottle at leader Mathieu van der Poel! 😮 pic.twitter.com/OaCqmb0a9h

— Cycling on TNT Sports (@cyclingontnt) April 13, 2025

The incident happened on the Templeuve-en-Pévèle sector, a bottle, which appeared to be a Visma-Lease a Bike-branded one, thrown at him from the crowd, the item striking him in the face.

Speaking to Sporza's TV cameras afterwards, Van der Poel called the attack "attempted manslaughter" and demanded the perpetrator face legal action.

"We can't let this pass," he said. "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. This is something different than throwing beer."

Taking a somewhat different line to Van der Poel, Alpecin-Deceuninck team manager Philip Roodhooft suggested the bottle's thrower deserved "as little attention as possible".

"We will first see if the authorities can identify someone. But we shouldn't give it too much attention, when you see how many tens of thousands of people do appreciate what Mathieu and others are achieving here," he said.

On Monday afternoon, Alpecin-Deceuninck released an official statement confirming they "will be filing an official complaint against the perpetrator to
formally denounce this behaviour".

The statement said: "During Paris-Roubaix, a spectator deliberately threw a bottle toward Mathieu van der Poel. A dangerous and unacceptable incident. We are relieved that Mathieu remained unharmed and confirm that, as a team, we will be filing an official complaint against the perpetrator to formally denounce this behaviour.

"However, this issue goes beyond that single act. Too often, we observe that such misconduct is either caused by or accompanied by excessive alcohol consumption. What occurred on Sunday represents an escalation of earlier incidents, with Mathieu van der Poel not being the sole target. We have also noted that during other races - both in CX and on the road - the misbehaviour of a few individuals can have far-reaching consequences.

"It jeopardises the safety of our riders, overshadows the enjoyment and reputation of genuine cycling enthusiasts, and diverts attention from the sporting achievements. We will continue to monitor the legal process internally so that this misconduct does not receive more attention than it warrants. At the same time, we are calling for dialogue and co-operation among all involved parties - riders, teams, federations, organisers, and government authorities - to implement measures that prevent individuals with bad intentions from infiltrating cycling events and to take proactive steps at known critical points."

The UCI also "unanimously condemned" the behaviour, saying it "cannot be tolerated in the context of a cycling event".

"The UCI and representatives of cycling's families express their support for the rider and will explore, in conjunction with the competent authorities, all the legal channels at their disposal so that such behaviour is duly and severely punished, as has already been the case in the past," a spokesperson said. "They will take the same action in the future against any act that threatens the physical integrity of riders."

The bottle appeared to be a Visma-Lease a Bike-branded item, the team of Wout van Aert taking to social media to express their disgust at whoever threw it.

"Throwing objects at riders who are giving their all — stop it immediately," the team said on social media. "Just enjoy the beauty of the race."

It comes after a spectator was caught on camera spitting at Van der Poel as he soloed to victory at E3 Saxo Classic — the Alpecin-Deceuninck rider also having 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.

Mathieu van der Poel cap incident at Paris-Roubaix 2024 (credit: Eurosport/Discovery+)

The lawyer of the spectator involved in last year's incident claimed she "never [had] any intention to harm" to Van der Poel. To avoid prosecution she was offered a deal which would require her to admit wrongdoing and volunteer with Les Amis de Paris-Roubaix (The Friends of Paris-Roubaix organisation).

As with the 2024 incident, Van der Poel was unperturbed by the bottle throwing, continuing his charge to an eighth Monument win of his career, that despite a puncture on the Carrefour de l'Arbre. He and Tadej Pogačar had proved themselves the strongest in the race, distancing Van der Poel's teammate Jasper Philipsen on an earlier sector.

However, a crash saw the world champion cut adrift from Van der Poel, a later mechanical seeing the gap rise to over a minute as the two-time winner added a third cobblestone to his palmares.