'Guilty' fan apologises after Mathieu van der Poel has ‘very lucky escape’ in X2O Trofee Loenhout-Azencross victory
Published 29/12/2025 at 21:02 GMT
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Mathieu van der Poel was left thanking his lucky stars that he was not involved in a much more serious incident at X2O Trofee Loenhout-Azencross in Loenhout on Monday afternoon. The Dutchman was forced to react very quickly after a fan extended their hand over the course railings, making contact with Van der Poel in the process. The spectator in question has since apologised.
Watch: Van der Poel wobbles after bike touched by fan - 'That was close!'
Video credit: TNT Sports
Mathieu van der Poel had a lucky escape after what appeared to be an accidental collision with a fan at X2O Trofee Loenhout-Azencross in Loenhout on Monday.
Van der Poel claimed a sixth cyclo-cross victory of the season to seal a dominant win in Belgium, but it was far from plain sailing for the reigning world champion.
Van der Poel had already been dealt a setback on the opening lap after being unclipped at the start line.
The Alpecin-Deceuninck rider had a considerable amount of work to do in order to move back to the front of the lead group.
That progress looked to be undone when a spectator's hand came over the railing, forcing Van der Poel to suddenly change direction.
Fortunately, he managed to maintain his balance on the treacherous terrain and was remarkably able to continue on track towards victory.
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Highlights: Van der Poel storms to victory in Loenhout as Van Aert thwarted by punctures
Video credit: TNT Sports
"I was very lucky, because I was just able to stay upright. I haven't watched the footage yet, but I didn't feel it was malicious," said Van der Poel in quotes published by cyclingnews.com.
"When people are cheering, they sometimes forget there are riders coming. This can happen."
The TNT commentary said at the time: "I've seen Van der Poel catching something on the side of the track. I don't know if it was a fan or something on the railings. Lucky to hold that one upright. Full of incidents so far for MDP.
"I really hope that was a genuine mistake from the spectator there, just getting a bit too enthusiastic with the first bumping. It just caught the arm of Van der Poel there. It looked like he wasn't doing it on purpose there, thank God."
Upon reviewing the replay, they added: "That was close, just catching the end of the bars."
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The spectator in question has since issued an apology to Van der Poel following the incident, and told Sporza: "I really have nothing against Mathieu van der Poel. I feel so guilty – it wasn't my intention at all.
"I love cyclo-cross very much, so this is the last thing I wanted to happen. I would like to apologise to Mathieu once again."
The race itself proved to be a pulsating contest, and was not without its mishaps for the other riders in contention.
Wout van Aert was forced to ride on a flat tyre until he had time to reach the pits, which proved highly detrimental to his victory prospects.
The Belgian finished one minute and 26 seconds adrift of Van der Poel in 10th place, while the podium was complete by second place Niels Vandeputte and Joris Nieuwenhuis.
Golazo Cycling Events, who manage cyclo-cross events including the X20 Badkamers Trofee series, also commented on what could have been a potentially dangerous incident.
Christophe Impens - speaking on behalf of the organiser - added: "Look, there were 15,000 fans here who behaved exemplarily.
"This was an unfortunate incident. Hopefully, Mathieu doesn't take it too seriously, and we can resolve this amicably. He [the supporter] also wants to apologise to Mathieu personally."
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