The spectator who threw a bidon at Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) and struck him in the face during his Paris-Roubaix solo victory has apologised to the Dutchman, telling his story of the incident for the first time.
His action was caught by TV cameras 33km from the finish in Roubaix, with Van der Poel flinching but staying on his bike, before describing it post-race as "like a stone hitting my face" and "attempted manslaughter."
