New details about Paris-Roubaix’s bottle thrower: The man, the superstar Mathieu van der Poel threw a filled bottle in the face during the classic cycling, traveled with a fan club from Belgium, which ultimately ensured that he was transferred. At first, the perpetrator did not want to admit his deed.
The bottle launcher of Paris-Roubaix was convicted within a few hours and, according to the West Flemish public prosecutor, has faced the police. But he probably didn’t quite voluntarily. Rather, he was confronted by other fans who made his way to the race with him in the morning.
Rutger Goeminne, chairman of a Belgian Matej Mohoric fan club, told the newspaper “Het Laatste Nieuws” that the perpetrator came out of his own ranks.
“For Paris-Roubaix, we organize a Ghent bus to a cobblestone passage every year. Loyal members, but also people without membership, are there so that we can reduce the costs. The man was one of them,” said the chairman, who expressly emphasized that the board did not know the man before.
“In the beginning he denied everything, but …”
Because the bottle launcher was together with members of the fan club, he was quickly identified by them and confronted after the race. “After the race we took him aside on the bus. At the beginning he denied everything, but his gaze revealed doubts. In the end, he admitted it. He was very ashamed and reported to the police on Sunday,” said Goeminne.
The perpetrator had already recorded during the conversation on the bus that he was not himself at that moment and wanted to “excuse everyone”. “He is very sorry,” said Goeminne about the man, who wrote worldwide headlines on Sunday for the wrong reasons.
The Radsport World Association UCI has meanwhile announced legal steps against the bottle launcher. As the Union Cyclist announced on Monday evening, “in cooperation with the responsible authorities, it will exploit all legal options available to them so that such behavior is properly and strictly punished”.