French officials probe bottle attack on Van der Poel
PARIS, April 14 - French justice officials have launched an investigation after cycling champion Mathieu van der Poel had a plastic bottle hurled at his face during his triumphant ride to a third consecutive Paris-Roubaix victory on Sunday.
"An investigation was opened into the charge of violence with a weapon in order to identify and arrest the perpetrator," Lille prosecutor Carole Etienne said on X.
The Dutch rider was struck while powering solo over a cobbled section with 33 kilometers remaining in the prestigious one-day classic, often called "The Hell of the North".
"It's not normal. It was a full bottle, it's maybe half a kilogram and I rode 50kph, it was like a stone hitting my face," the visibly angered Van der Poel told reporters on Sunday.
"This is just not acceptable. If they spit or throw beer, it's also unacceptable but that's a different story. This is really something we have to take legal action against."
Belgian newspaper Het Nieuwsblad reported on Monday that the spectator who launched the projectile has since surrendered to Flemish police.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Two boys among four dead after 'e-scooter fire' tore through 10-storey housing block in France: Twenty-nine hurt
Two boys are among four people who have died after a fire believed to have been started by an electric scooter tore through a 10-storey housing block in France. The blaze in Reims, 80 miles north-east of Paris, was so fierce that dozens of firefighters took several hours to get it under control. Around 29 people are believed to have been injured in the inferno. A 13-year-old jumped to his death from the 4th-floor apartment where the fire started in the early hours of Friday. A burned body found inside is believed to be that of his older brother, aged 15, said Reims public prosecutor François Schneider. An 87-year-old woman and her 59-year-old son who lived on the 8th floor suffocated to death in the smoke, he added. Two people were seriously injured, including the dead boys' stepfather who was badly burned, and 26 others were treated in hospital for lighter injuries. Schneider said there is 'no doubt' that the blaze was accidental, spreading quickly from the scooter that caught fire for reasons unknown. He said the first responders described the fire as a 'scene of war' as people were fleeing in disarray. Battery fires 'are extremely difficult to extinguish' and the prosecutor confirmed that 62 firefighters battled the blaze for more than three hours. A resident of the block, named Faïza, told a local radio station her family had narrowly escaped after hearing screams and seeing smoke. She said: 'The flames took over the building so quickly, we didn't have time. We went downstairs and went straight out with the children.' Faïza said she was friends with the mother of the teenagers who died and said that the mother was abroad in French Guiana with her youngest child. She said she had witnessed the body of the boy who jumped from the building. 'His feet were broken. He was burned,' she said. 'His eyes were closed. I could see that he no longer felt the pain. You could see that he was no longer there. He wasn't moving, he wasn't speaking, his eyes were closed.' Lithium batteries can cause fires if they overheat, become damaged or are improperly manufactured. Since January, electric scooters have caused at least 50 fires across France, The Telegraph reported. Earlier this year in the UK, a family's home was destroyed and their pet dog was killed in a fire started by one of the vehicles. Mother Bernadette, 36, her 16-year-old daughter Lashana, and son Tyrone, 20, were luckily not at home and are currently living with a friend. The terrifying blaze happened at 10.30am when the battery of a 'top of the range' £1,500 e-scooter exploded while it was charging underneath the stairs. Flames tore through the three-bed house in West Hampstead, northwest London, on Monday to completely gut the property and turn the family of three's belongings into ashes. Their pet dog of eight years Tuffy is believed to have died immediately when the Rottweiler-Labrador cross-breed became overcome with fumes.
Daily Record
3 hours ago
- Daily Record
Two dead as car plunges 300ft off cliff in beauty spot horror
According to reports, the incident happened in full view of horrified onlookers. Two people have been killed after a vehicle plunged 300ft from a cliff at a popular coastal beauty spot. On Friday evening, a silver vehicle plummeted down the cliff face before hitting the water. Tonight, Hampshire and Isle of Wight Police have confirmed that the incident at Alum Bay resulted in the deaths of two people. The horrific crash sparked a huge emergency response, with coastguard ships, police, firefighters and paramedics all racing to the scene. It has been reported that a man was dragged from the water, however, further details about his conditions were unknown until tonight. According to reports, the incident happened in full view of horrified onlookers. It comes as people gathered in the Isle of Wight for The Round the Island Race - a one-day yacht race around the island. The race still went ahead yesterday, despite the route passing through Alum Bay. The wreckage of the car - which had its roof and bonnet crumpled - could be seen partially submerged in the coastal waters in dramatic images of the aftermath, reports The Isle of Wight County Press. On Friday, police released a statement, which read: "We're currently at the scene of a serious incident in Totland. "We were called at 7.21pm this evening (Friday, June 6) after a car, which was being driven along Alum Bay New Road, left the road, came off the cliff top and came to rest in the water below." The site of the horror incident is near the Isle of Wight Needles - a famed landmark in the area of three stacks of chalk jutting out of the water. Only yesterday, an inquest heard how a 12-year-old boy slipped in a puddle and lost his balance by the edge of a cliff before plunging to his death. French tourist Marion Tourgon described the moment young Zhihan Zhao tragically died after an accident at the Cliffs of Moher in western Ireland, on July 23, 2024. The 12-year-old had set out on a walk with his mum, Xianhong Huang, and friends on the Cliffs of Moher trail but the stroll turned fatal at around 1.45pm. The Chinese nationals had only arrived to Ireland 12 days before the tragic incident, and were visiting one of the country's most popular attractions. The mum said her son was walking ahead of her on the trail when she had lost sight of him. She told how they started walking from the Nagle's car park in Liscannor, and said: "My son walked very fast and was ahead of us by 50 metres. As there was only one path I thought we would meet him along the way. When I didn't I walked to the visitor centre and I checked the visitor centre."
Telegraph
9 hours ago
- Telegraph
Four die in apartment block e-scooter fire
'Fires caused by this type of battery…are extremely difficult to extinguish, since the cells tend to self-sustain when they burn, which explains the violence and speed with which the fire spreads,' he added. One resident of the block, named only as Faïza, told a local radio station she and her family narrowly escaped after hearing screams and seeing smoke everywhere. She said they had to leave everything behind as they fled. 'The flames took over the building so quickly, we didn't have time. We went downstairs and went straight out with the children,' she said. Faiza said she was friends with the mother of the two boys who died, who was away on a visit to French Guiana with her newborn baby girl. She added that she had seen the body of the boy who jumped lying on the ground. 'His feet were broken. He was burned,' she said. 'His eyes were closed. I could see that he no longer felt the pain. You could see that he was no longer there. He wasn't moving, he wasn't speaking, his eyes were closed.'
