Mathieu van der Poel called for "legal action" on the spectator who threw a full bottle of water at him at Paris-Roubaix on Sunday, as he charged towards a third successive victory.
The Alpecin-Deceuninck rider was riding solo on the Templeuve sector of cobbles, around 35km from the end of the race, when someone in the crowd lobbed what appeared to be an old Jumbo-Visma bottle at him, striking him in the face.
He had been riding with Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates), until the Slovenian misjudged a corner and crashed, and therefore was alone for the finalé of the race.
In his post-race press conference, the 30-year-old described it as like a "stone hitting my face".
"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," he said. "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."
Earlier, Van der Poel told Sporza: "Hopefully, the police can identify the man because there has to be a trial for this. This is attempted manslaughter. If the UCI doesn't take action, then we will do it with the team."
On TNT Sports, commentator Adam Blythe describe the perpetrator as a "scumbag". "I can't believe someone is doing this. It's just beyond belief," he said. "Good news is it didn’t affect him – but yeah, disgusting. Just do one. Don’t bother coming out."
The incident is not the first to have occurred to Van der Poel, even at Paris-Roubaix. Last year, a spectator threw a cap at the Dutchman's wheel as he soloed to victory, while he has also be spat at at the E3 Saxo Classic this year, and had beer thrown at him.
His team's manager, Philip Roodhooft, would not be drawn on the incident: "They are not important. I refuse to talk about people who don't deserve deserve attention."
It had threatened to overshadow Van der Poel's hat-trick, the Roubaix in which he admitted he had suffered the most, and been forced to ride without a working radio or power meter. Thankfully for him, not these episodes nor the fact he punctured on the Carrefour de l'Arbre deprived him of his victory.
"Just winning three times is super special and it’s not something you expect," he said. :Three years in a row [at a race] where you also need some luck - it’s exceptional."
