Earlier this week it became known that the woman who seemed to consciously throw her hat at Mathieu van der Poel’s wheels during Paris-Roubaix had no intention of hindering the world champion. But what punishment could the woman receive?
The French branch of the riders’ union CPA has already indicated that it will file a complaint against the woman who pointed her cap towards the wheels of MVDP threw. In the meantime, the person involved reportedly made herself known to the police and indicated that she did not want to hinder the rider at all.
Penalty
It is not yet known whether the police will decide to prosecute the woman. Criminal lawyer Walter Damen joined in HLN have sometimes discussed the possible punishments that await the woman.
“Throwing a cap to knock someone down falls under the heading of ‘intentional assault and battery. The throwing motion is really very clear.”
You could say that her cap ‘accidentally’ fell out of her hands and that the term fly-tipping is more appropriate. “If she only drank beers and ate sandwiches there and then left that rubbish behind, that would be illegal dumping,” Damen responds.
Weapon
“But if you stand there with a baseball bat and you throw it at a wheel, no one is going to talk about illegal dumping. A cap is also a weapon, because it is used to deliberately overthrow someone.”
“By the way: suppose that cap had ended up between the wheels, causing Van der Poel to fall and die, then the qualification would change to ‘intentional assault and battery resulting in death, without the intention to kill’.”
Minimum prison sentence
If Van der Poel became incapacitated for at least four months after the incident, a minimum prison sentence of two years applies. “Frankly, I hope that a mediation procedure will be started, where the person in question can also apologize,” said the criminal lawyer.
“I don’t think she should come before the criminal court, but you could link that mediation to community service or to a number of conditions that must be complied with. But the message must be clear: throwing beer, throwing something between the spokes, pushing : it’s just very foolish and very wrong.”
