The Albany Gazette - French prosecutor investigates as man confesses to throwing bottle at Van der Poel

Belgian media reported that a 28-year-old man handed himself in to Belgian police on Monday in the province of West Flanders saying he threw the bottle. He reportedly expressed his regrets.

Television footage suggested the fan was aiming at Van der Poel when he threw the bottle on Sunday during the cobbled sector of Templeuve, around 33 kilometres from the finish in Roubaix.

The man had come to the race in a bus chartered by a Belgian fan club of Slovenian rider Matej Mohoric, the supporters' group, 'Matej Matjes', said on its social media accounts.

Officials of the fan club said the man is not a member and that they had contacted him on Sunday evening to tell him to report to the police.

Van der Poel was furious after the race.

"It is unacceptable," the Dutch rider said. "It was a full bidon. It weighed half a kilo and I was riding at 40 kph. It's like being hit in the face with a stone."

His team, Alpecin-Deceuninck, released a statement on Monday calling it "a dangerous and unacceptable incident".

"We are relieved that Mathieu remained unharmed and confirm that, as a team, we will be filing an official complaint against the perpetrator to formally denounce this behaviour," they said.

Van der Poel, who is also a seven-time cyclo-cross world champion, has been spat at in other races. His team said there have been incidents in both formats.

"This issue goes beyond that single act," said the team. "What occurred on Sunday represents an escalation of earlier incidents, with Mathieu van der Poel not being the sole target."

They said that "such misconduct is either caused by or accompanied by excessive alcohol consumption" and added that "it jeopardises the safety of our riders, overshadows the enjoyment and reputation of genuine cycling enthusiasts, and diverts attention from the sporting achievements".

(C.Young--TAG)