Mathieu Van der Poel showed the spectators, who booed him lap after lap. He rode confidently to his seventh win of the season. Wout van Aert had crashed out of the decision, as had Tom Pidcock. There were no other opponents far and wide, the Dutch cycling giant could have savored his final meters and let his triumph count as revenge.

But not Mathieu Van der Poel. Not for the first time, he couldn't control his emotions and spat at a group at the side of the course. They had already booed him during the warm-up. During the race, they shouted things at him that he would not repeat, he said in the winner's interview.

No penalty imposed to date

At this point, there is no word of a penalty from the UCI. However, this could still follow, as the cyclocross regulations provide for a fine of 50 to 200 francs for "insults, threats and inappropriate behavior", as Global Cycling Network writes.

Van der Poel does not seem to regret his spitting attack. The audience was unsportsmanlike and he was simply no longer prepared to put up with it, he said in the interview.

Van der Poel's outburst is reminiscent of an incident that had more serious consequences: The night before the 2022 Road World Championships, two girls provoked him by knocking on the door of his hotel room several times. At some point, the then World Cup favorite had had enough, he confronted the teenagers and apparently did so so forcefully that one girl fell to the floor and injured herself. A short time later, the police arrived and took the professional cyclist away. He subsequently paid a fine of the equivalent of almost 1000 francs. More bitterly for him, he spent a large part of the night before the World Championship showdown at the police station. After 35 kilometers, he abandoned the race.