Bottle throw at Paris -Roubaix: Perpetrator confesses - van der Poel horrified!

Bottle throw at Paris -Roubaix: Perpetrator confesses - van der Poel horrified!

The classic cycling paris-Roubaix caused a stir on April 14, 2025, not only because of the exciting course of the race. Mathieu van der Poel secured his third title in a row and won with more than a minute lead, despite an incident in which a viewer threw a full drinking bottle in his face.

A spokesman for the West Flemish public prosecutor confirmed that the police stood up for the police and regretted regret about his actions. The incident that was easy to see in TV broadcast has overshadowed the already heated racing. Van der Poel himself expressed hope that the perpetrator would be held accountable because he sees the incident as an attempted manslaughter. This was not the first incident of this kind in his career; Last year he was thrown at a hat and also showered with beer.

the race and the competition

Tadej Pogacar, who competed in his first Paris Roubaix, secured second place after he had an accident in sector nine that cost him a placement at the top. Pogacar had hoped to be the first driver since Bernard Hinault, who won both the Tour de France and Paris-Roubaix in 1981. Mads Pedersen was third, followed by Wout van Aert and Florian Vermeresch.

van der Poel's victory was his eighth in a monument race and thus brings it to the same way with Pogacar, which concerns the number of monument races obtained. During the race, the rivalry between Pogacar and Van der Poel was clearly felt, both drivers challenged themselves on the demanding cobblestone paving sections.

safety concerns in cycling

Despite the exciting race, security in cycling remains an important topic. Geraint Thomas, Tour-de-France winner from 2018, expressed concerns about the security measures in cycling in an interview. There are special concerns about the fall rates that, according to a UCI study, rose by 24 percent in the previous year. Thomas and other drivers look at the need to be able to visit the routes in advance in order to minimize the risk of unnecessary falls.

The incidents in Paris-Roubaix also raise questions about the behavior of the audience. Over 10 percent of the cyclists treated in emergency rooms were in a competition at the time of the accident, which makes it clear that not only the nature of the route, but also the behavior of the audience plays a role. This confirms the relevance of initiatives such as the introduction of yellow and red cards to punish dangerous behaviors on the route.