Mathieu van der Poel hit by bottle thrown from crowd at Paris-Roubaix, demands legal action over attack

UPDATE 14/4/2025: The spectator responsible has now handed himself in to the police. Full story here.

Mathieu van der Poel has once again been the victim of an incident involving a roadside spectator at a race, the Dutchman struck by a water bottle as he rode Paris-Roubaix this afternoon. 

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.

As Van der Poel today rode to a third consecutive Roubaix crown —Tadej Pogačar having crashed out of their head-to-head battle on an earlier sector — a bottle, which appeared to be a Visma-Lease a Bike-branded one, was thrown at him from the crowd, the item striking him in the face.

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

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

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 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.

Calling the incident for TNT Sports' coverage, commentator Rob Hatch said: "There's that incident again, we're going to see lots more of [it]... what on earth is that?"

Van der Poel was unperturbed, continuing his charge to an eighth Monument win of his career, despite a puncture on the Carrefour de l'Arbre. He and 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.

The bottle incident is similar to what happened at last year's race, a woman subsequently facing criminal proceedings for throwing a cap at Van der Poel's bike as he passed.

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

The spectator's lawyer claimed she "never [had] any intention to harm" to Van der Poel but she faced a charge of intentional assault and battery. 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).

Mathieu van der Poel hit by bottle at Paris-Roubaix (credit: TNT Sports)

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."

Mathieu van der Poel hit by bottle at Paris-Roubaix (credit: TNT Sports)

Cyclo-cross legend Sven Nys added: "It's disgusting to see fringe fans throwing water bottles at a champion. Why? Why? Stop this nonsense!"