The spectator who threw a bidon at Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) throughout Paris-Roubaix on Sunday has handed himself in to the Flemish police, in response to a report in Nieuwsblad.
The incident occurred while Van der Poel was soloing in the direction of victory, with a spectator on the aspect of the street showing to throw a yellow bottle on the Dutch rider, putting him within the face 33km from the end.
Van der Poel was angered by the incident, evaluating it to “tried manslaughter” post-race, calling on the UCI to take motion, and saying his staff would pursue police motion in opposition to the perpetrator, calling for a trial.
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“We will not let this cross. It was a full bidon, and it harm quite a bit. If I take that bidon on my nostril, it is damaged,” he mentioned. “Hopefully, the police can establish the person as a result of there needs to be a trial for this.”
On Monday morning, Nieuwsblad reported the feedback of one other spectator who had witnessed the incident and included a call-out for readers to submit details about the particular person’s identification, nevertheless, later within the morning it was confirmed that somebody had given themself up.
The particular person’s identification just isn’t public, however a spokesperson for the West Flanders prosecutor’s workplace confirmed to Nieuwsblad {that a} man had handed himself within the MIRA Police Zone, which covers the areas of Waregem, Anzegem, Avelgem, Spiere-Helkijn, and Zwevegem.
Although the incident occurred in France, it appears probably that the spectator who handed himself in could also be from the Flanders area of Belgium.
It isn’t but identified if the person shall be charged, or how any felony proceedings can be dealt with, given the cross-border nature of the incident.
This isn’t the primary time Van der Poel has been the sufferer of harassment from spectators, with beer being thrown at him throughout races on the street and in cyclocross, and most lately a spectator spat at him on his method to victory within the E3 Saxo Traditional.
Eventually yr’s Paris-Roubaix, Van der Poel additionally had a cap thrown at him on his method to solo victory.
In 2024, the Belgian arm of the riders’ union the CPA filed civil authorized proceedings in opposition to spectators who threw beer through the Tour of Flanders, however no final result of that motion has been made public but.
Van der Poel himself was charged with frequent assault and fined in Australia after a confrontation with two teenage ladies on the eve of the World Championships street race in 2022, however he later had the conviction and fantastic overturned.
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