Mathieu van der Poel: Person who spat on Dutch cyclist in E3 Saxo Bank Classic fined

In a separate incident, Alpecin-Deceuninck rider Van der Poel was struck by a water bottle while also in the lead alone at Paris-Roubaix on Sunday, before going on to win the race for a record-equalling third time in a row.

A 28-year-old Belgian man, who handed himself into police on Monday, apologised on Wednesday for hurling the bottle at Van der Poel.

The man, from Waregem in west Belgium, said his actions were “stupid and dangerous” and that he had “drunk a lot”.

“I am so happy that he crossed the finish line first on Sunday, despite my stupid action,” he wrote in an email released by Flemish newspaper Het Nieuwsblad.

“A water bottle was in the grass. I picked it up and threw it when he passed. Without thinking. Half a second later, I realised how stupid and dangerous it was.”

The man handed himself into a West Flanders police station on Monday.

The public prosecutor is deciding what action – if any – to take.

Van der Poel, 30, has been involved in several incidents involving spectators in recent years.

In December 2023, he spat at some spectators during a cyclocross race in the Netherlands, saying he had had enough of being booed and having liquid thrown at him.

The following April, he had beer thrown at him during the Tour of Flanders.