The cross in Loenhout brought with it many striking moments. There was the double flat tire Wout van Aert, but the moment that will still be talked about was the supporter who took the wheel of Mathieu van der Poel touched. Even if it turned out to be unconscious.
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Apologies to Van der Poel
Something Van der Poel himself immediately thought, as he indicated during his flash interview: “I didn’t have the feeling that it was conscious”, it sounded clear there. “People are often supporting so hard that they forget that there are still riders coming.”
Indeed, it turned out to be unintentional. The supporter in question also apologized to Sporza: “I really have nothing against Mathieu van der Poel. I feel so guilty – this was not my intention at all.”
“I love cross country very much, so this is the last thing I wanted to happen. I would like to apologize again to Mathieu.” New images also show that the man had no bad intentions.
A new view of the fan that appeared to touch Mathieu van der Poel in the early stages of X2O Trofee Azencross Loenhout 🎥 pic.twitter.com/xv8ZrHMSjb
— Cycling on TNT Sports (@cyclingontnt) December 29, 2025
No punishment
Which then also has a major impact. The man was removed from the public immediately after the incident, after which a complaint was immediately filed against him by the UCI. However, that complaint has now been withdrawn and the man has also gone free in all other matters. So sand over it.
Christophe Impens from Golazo had already indicated during the live broadcast that the man was quite shocked by the incident: “The police quickly viewed the VRT images and started looking for the man on their own initiative to take him in for questioning. He was reportedly very impressed and assured that it did not happen on purpose. It is now up to the police to judge.” The verdict now is that the man is not to blame.
