Mathieu van der Poel is absolutely dominating this year’s cyclocross season. No matter the race, the course, the conditions, or the challengers, it seems nothing can stop the 28-year-old Dutch superstar. He’s raced seven times this season, notching seven wins. In the process, he’s handedly beaten Wout van Aert, Tom Pidcock, and Eli Iserbyt, his closest rivals.
However, after this weekend’s race in Dutch city of Hulst, his historically amazing season now has one major blemish, as van der Poel was captured on camera spitting into the faces of some local fans during final lap of the muddy race.
After the race, van der Poel said that his actions were in response to the incessant boos from a particular group of fans, even during the racers’ pre-race laps. And according to a statement from the race organizers, the boos were supplemented by throwing beers onto van der Poel during the race. The fans in question even shoved a pair of official race photographers into a body of water.
Van der Poel’s action was caught clearly on camera and gained worldwide attention as the video spread around social media.
“Even during the warm-up. I’ve had enough of those boos,” van der Poel said after the race. “After a while, it’s enough. Even for me.”
Asked to repeat what the fans said to him, van der Poel declined, saying, “It’s better to ask them yourself. I’m not going to repeat that.”
For his actions, van der Poel was fined 250 Swiss francs, or roughly $295 at the time of this writing.
The race’s organizers condemned the fans in a statement posted to their Facebook page, saying, “these types of spectators do not belong on our cross (race).”
“A few among those thousands of other–exemplary–supporters felt it necessary not only to taunt and pelt Mathieu van der Poel with beer,” the statement continued. “Two press photographers were also carelessly pushed into the water by a bunch of miscreants. As an organization we are very clear about this: these types of people do not belong on our or on any other cyclo-cross course or sports competition.”
Not MVDP’s first altercation with fans
This isn’t the first time van der Poel has had an altercation with people outside the race course. In 2022, he was initially fined for a confrontation he had with two teenaged girls in Australia the night before that year’s World Championship Road Race.
In that incident, van der Poel allegedly assaulted the girls, shoving one to the ground after a verbal confrontation that stemmed from the teens repeatedly knocking on van der Poel’s hotel room door late into the night.
However, a local judge eventually overturned that decision, reasoning that van der Poel’s actions were in response to a “significant degree of provocation.”
