The X2O-cross in Loenhout saw the expected winner, Mathieu van der Poel, but the race was marred by several incidents, particularly a moment between Van der Poel and a spectator in the opening lap. The spectator was even taken in by the police for questioning. "But the man wants to personally apologize," says organizer Christophe Impens.
Impens, managing director at Golazo – the organizer of the Loenhout cross – gave a first update on the remarkable incident in the early phase of the race. "The police quickly reviewed the footage and on their own initiative went looking for the man to take him in for questioning," he told the camera of Sporza.
"He was reportedly quite overwhelmed and assured that it was not intentional. It is now up to the police to make a judgment on this. Look, there were 15,000 fans who behaved exemplary. This was an unfortunate incident."
"The UCI has filed a complaint, but it is also important not to blow this out of proportion now. First, it needs to be investigated what exactly happened. Now we wait to see if Mathieu will file a complaint. Hopefully, he will not take it too seriously and we can settle this amicably. The man also wants to personally apologize to Mathieu."
Impens also wants to emphasize that Golazo is doing everything possible to prevent such incidents. "And it really is just individuals losing control. It’s happening less and less, and that’s how it should be. Cyclocross is a popular festival and should remain so. We are taking necessary measures, but we can’t watch everyone all the time."
Reaction from Mathieu van der Poel
The Dutch rider had not yet watched the footage when asked about the incident, but the leader of Alpecin-Deceuninck does not believe there was any malicious intent. “I think the man was just cheering,” he said afterwards in the flash interview with Sporza.
"I was quite lucky. I barely managed to stay upright, and that on a section where it was really fast. I just don’t feel it was an action with bad intentions. Like so often, the spectators are extremely enthusiastic, but sometimes they forget that riders are coming. You also need a bit of luck with these kinds of things. If someone’s hand touches your handlebar, it can go any number of ways."
