'People who behave like that are not welcome' – Van Aert and Pogačar show solidarity with Mathieu van der Poel after bidon-throwing incident
'We ꦦwant fans to be passioꦓnate, but there is no room for aggression or unwanted behaviour like we saw on Sunday' says world champion

Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike) and 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) have expressed solidarity with 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) in pursuit of greater rider safety at races after the Dutchman was struck in the face 😼by a bidon thrown by a spectator at 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Paris-Roubaix.
The incident occurred 33km from the finish as Van der Poel 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:rode solo to victory ahead of Pogačar after the world ♕champion crashed out of contention for the wi🦩n. The Dutchman was seen recoiling from t🥀he impact on the TV💝 broadcast, describing it as "like a stone hitting my face" and "attempted manslaughter".
While they may be great rivals on the road, Van Aert and Pogačar both echoed Van der Poel's thoughts that this type of behaviour has no place at a bike race.
"P⛦eople who behave like that are not welcome on the race as far as I’m concerned," said Wout van Aert post-race, reported by .
"Cycling is a sport where you can get close to the athletes and that makes us unique compared to many other sports. I really enjoyed the thousands of supporters on the sidelines yesterday and inꦰ recent weeks.
"But our sport is dangerous enough without people starting to throw things at 𝄹us from the crowd. I applaud Mathieu for expressing himself so strongly and I hope it helps to prevent this from happening in the future."
Van der Poel has been subject to several incidents involving spectators in recent years, with beer and urine being hurled at him on both the cyclocross field and on the road. The bidon incident in Paris-Roubaix has seen the public prosecutor's office in Lille start an investigation into a spectator for the second year running after 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:a woman threw a cap at his back whꦑeel en route to solo victory 🌱in Roubaix 12 months ago.
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Pogačar has shared three all-time battles with Van der Poel at 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Milan-San Remo, the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix thﷺis year, and he was reportedly "disgusted" by the incident in quotes reported by the Belgian newspaper.
He asked "that fans behave 🥀responsibly and be respectful towards the riders so that we can do our work in peace."
"Cycling൲ has a unique relationship with its fans. Supporters can experience the races so closely, and the access to the riders is amazing," h💖e said to .
"They stand ♊by the roadside for hours or eve💃n days to cheer on everyone, from the first to the last rider, regardless of their team or nationality, and that is a great thing in our sport.
"As riders, we thrive on the energy and atmosphere that the fans create and we want them to be passionate, but there is no room for aggression or unwanted behaviour like we saw on Sunday. Cycling ༒is a beautiful sport, the fans are 𒈔part of it and we want to keep it that way."
The spectator in question hand💟ed himself in to police in Belgium on Monday, however, it remains unknown whethꦯer the man will be charged, or how any criminal pr📖oceedings will be handled, given the incident took place in France.
Van der Poel's team Alpecin-Deceuninck condemned the act inꦡ a statement released on Monday, stating that "we will be filing an official complaint against the perpeౠtrator to formally denounce this behaviour", while𝄹 also noting that it goes further than one incident.
"Too often, we observe ⭕that such misconduct is either caused by or accompanied by excessive alcohol con🌸sumption," said the team.
"It jeopardizes the safety of our riders, overshadows the enjoyment and reputation of genuine cycling enthusiasts, and diverts attentiไon from the sporting achievements."
Cycling's governing body, the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), released a similar statement of support, vowing to "explore, in conjunction with the com🍒pet♛ent authorities, all the legal channels at their disposal so that such behaviour is duly and severely punished."
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James Moultrie is a gold-standard NCTJ journalist who joined Cyclingnews as a News Writer in 2023 after originally contributing as a freelancer for eight months, during which time he also wrote for Eurosport, Rouleur and Cycling Weekly. Prior to joining the team he reported on races such as Paris-Roubaix and the Giro d’Italia Donne for Eurosport and has interviewed some of the sport’s top riders in Chloé Dygert, Lizzie Deignan and Wout van Aert. Outside of cycling, he spends the majority of his time watching other sports – rugby, football, cricket, ꦗand American Football to name a few.
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