Not this again! Can we please give Mathieu van der Poel a break?

The world champ survived another weird moment in the opening lap of the X2O Cross in Loenhout. A spectator’s hand struck his handlebars, nearly throwing him off balance. Despite a slow start, the world champion quickly moved toward the front, only to wobble after a corner.

Meanwhile, the big duel between the Alpecin – Decuenick rider and Wout van Aert went south, fast. The Visma – Lease a Bike had a fat tire early on.

Mvdp and roadside silliness

But back to these spectators. It was only a few days ago some dork blew vape smoke at him. On Monday as powered through the eighth lap, a guy with a vape device aimed a cloud of it directly at the Dutch rider. “I have to admit, I was a bit startled,” Van der Poel told reporters after the race. While he has faced similar incidents before, this one was captured on video. The “fan’s” pals were eagerly recording the stunt on their phones.

Not cool! ❌

Mathieu van der Poel lead the X2O Trofee in Loenhout despite this fan making contact! pic.twitter.com/8E27XvLt7H

— Cycling on TNT Sports (@cyclingontnt) December 29, 2025

“It’s hard to tell if it was intentional, but I definitely saw it happen,” Van der Poel said to Sporza. “Suddenly, something came right at me, and I had no idea what it was,” he said. “I didn’t even recognize the smell. Yesterday in Koksijde, I did catch a whiff of weed, but this wasn’t that.”

A history of vile fans

At the 2024 Paris–Roubaix, someone actually threw a full bottle at him. “We can’t let this pass. It was a full bottle, and it hurt a lot. If I take that on my nose, it’s broken,” he said at the time, calling it “attempted manslaughter.” The culprit later fessed up saying, “I am so happy that he crossed the finish line first on Sunday—despite my stupid actions. I also owe an apology to every rider and cycling fan.”

But why does this keep happening? Is it booze? Or just a lack of respect for the riders?
Van der Poel has had more than his share of unruly spectators. During his solo win at the E3 Saxo Classic, a fan spat at him in the closing miles . He kept his focus but later shrugged it off, saying some people just shouldn’t be at races. At the 2023 UCI CX World Cup in Hulst, fans threw beer—or possibly urine—at him, prompting a brief, reactive spit. In the 2024 Paris–Roubaix, he narrowly avoided a cap thrown toward his back wheel with roughly 42 km to go.

Whether driven by alcohol or envy, such behaviour is unacceptable. Even van Aert has weighed in: “People who behave like that are not welcome at the race as far as I’m concerned.”