¿Ha escupido Van der Poel a esos aficionados? pic.twitter.com/v3Hhnz4jmI
— BUENO,YO ME QUEDO POR AQUÍ, FUE UN PLACER SEÑORES! (@visconti_es) December 30, 2023
Mathieu van der Poel was captured on TV apparently spitting in the direction of fans he said had abused him every lap, and during the warm-up
Mathieu van der Poel made it seven wins from seven starts at the UCI World Cup in Hulst today but afterwards was forced to addressed questions about why he had spat in the direction of some spectators on the final lap.
The world champion, riding for Alpecin-Deceuninck, was fined 200 Swiss Francs, about €215, by the UCI commissaires for “incorrect behavior towards the spectators”.
When asked about the incident, as he was easing back and taking the applause of the crowd on the final lap, he said a section of the crowd had been booing and otherwise abusing him throughout the afternoon.
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"What happened? Nothing,” he said in a post-race interview. “Just a bunch of booers. It was the whole cross. It already started during the warm-up. I'm done with it. If you do, you better stay home. I'm done with all the booing.
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“What did they shout? You better ask them yourself. I'm not going to repeat that here. These are certainly not things that belong in sports. There shouldn't be any boos for anyone. After a while, it's enough, even for me."
Competing on home soil, Van der Poel attacked on the third lap and pulled out a large gap before easing off on the final passage of the circuit to win by 12 seconds from Joris Nieuwenhuis (Baloise Trek Lions), whose team mate, Lars van der Haar, was 3rd at 20 seconds.
While Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers) and Wout van Aert (Jumbo Visma) were also on the start line, they failed to make an impression at the front meaning there was no battle of the so-called 'big three'.
Pidcock crashed on the first corner and broke his rear derailleur, which saw him slip back to las man though he eventual fought on to finish 25th.
Van Aert ended the race in 5th place, at 43 seconds, after he too crashed. The Belgian tangled with Pim Ronhaar (Baloise Trek Lions), the Dublin World Cup winner last month, and suffered a mechanical after that second lap spill.
While a group of Irish riders has been in cyclocross action in Europe in recent days, none rode today's events in the Netherlands.
