Not this again! Can we please give Mathieu van der Poel a break?<\/p>\n
The world champ survived another weird moment in the opening lap of the X2O Cross in Loenhout. A spectator\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the big duel between the Alpecin \u2013 Decuenick rider and Wout van Aert went south, fast. The Visma \u2013 Lease a Bike had a fat tire early on.<\/p>\n
Mvdp and roadside silliness<\/p>\n
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. \u201cI have to admit, I was a bit startled,\u201d Van der Poel told reporters after the race. While he has faced similar incidents before, this one was captured on video. The \u201cfan\u2019s\u201d pals were eagerly recording the stunt on their phones.<\/p>\n
Not cool! \u274c<\/p>\n
Mathieu van der Poel lead the X2O Trofee in Loenhout despite this fan making contact! pic.twitter.com\/8E27XvLt7H<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Cycling on TNT Sports (@cyclingontnt) December 29, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s hard to tell if it was intentional, but I definitely saw it happen,\u201d Van der Poel said to Sporza. \u201cSuddenly, something came right at me, and I had no idea what it was,\u201d he said. \u201cI didn\u2019t even recognize the smell. Yesterday in Koksijde, I did catch a whiff of weed, but this wasn\u2019t that.\u201d<\/p>\n A history of vile fans<\/p>\n At the 2024 Paris\u2013Roubaix, someone actually threw a full bottle at him. \u201cWe can\u2019t let this pass. It was a full bottle, and it hurt a lot. If I take that on my nose, it\u2019s broken,\u201d he said at the time, calling it \u201cattempted manslaughter.\u201d The culprit lat<\/a>er fessed up saying, \u201cI am so happy that he crossed the finish line first on Sunday\u2014despite my stupid actions. I also owe an apology to every rider and cycling fan.\u201d<\/p>\n But why does this keep happening? Is it booze? Or just a lack of respect for the riders? Whether driven by alcohol or envy, such behaviour is unacceptable. Even van Aert has weighed<\/a> in: \u201cPeople who behave like that are not welcome at the race as far as I\u2019m concerned.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\u2019t be at races. At the 2023 UCI CX World Cup in Hulst, fans threw beer\u2014or possibly urine\u2014at him, prompting a brief, reactive spit. In the 2024 Paris\u2013Roubaix, he narrowly avoided a cap thrown toward his back wheel with roughly 42 km to go.<\/p>\n