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In what’s another case of spectators behaving badly, a rogue fan took things to an embarrassingly low level at Sunday’s Liège-Bastogne-Liège Femmes.
With about 32km to go, just after the brutal climb of La Redoute, a male spectator dressed in a UAE kit swung unannounced onto the race course and latched onto the back wheel of race leader Pauliena Rooijakkers (Fenix-Deceuninck).
Television footage captured the rogue rider briefly tucking in behind Rooijakkers and Antonia Niedermaier (Canyon-Sram), who had just bridged across.
“It’s absolutely ridiculous that you can have a spectator riding alongside the riders. He needs to be taken off the road immediately,” said race commentator and ex-pro Dani Christmas during the live broadcast.
A fan rides from the side of the road onto the wheel of the race leader at Liege-Bastogne-Liege Femmes.
: Peacock pic.twitter.com/zJhtHS3Qp5
— NBC Sports Cycling (@NBCSCycling) April 27, 2025
For a few surreal moments, he rode in the heart of the women’s monument before race marshals intervened. The interloper was quickly flagged by a race marshal on a motorbike and directed off-course.
Luckily, the wannabe racer didn’t disrupt the race. There has been no official word yet on whether Belgian authorities have identified the individual or if there will be any legal consequences.
Also read: Is the UCI doing enough for rider safety?
The race continued without major disruption, and Kim Le Court (AG Insurance-Soudal) of Mauritius sprinted to a historic victory, becoming the first African rider to win one of cycling’s monuments.
The cycling world wasted no time condemning the potentially dangerous stunt. Riders, fans, and teams took to social media to voice their outrage over yet another example of fan misconduct.
Troubling trend of spectator misbehavior
The rogue rider wasn’t the only close call on Sunday.
During the men’s edition of Liège-Bastogne-Liège, a van driver pulled onto the race course just in front of the day’s breakaway group with about 100km to go.
Race marshals quickly directed the vehicle off the road before any damage was done, but the incident was the latest in a string of high-profile miscues and a sense of growing hooliganism.
Someone drives a car onto the road right in front of the Liege-Bastogne-Liege breakaway.
: Peacock pic.twitter.com/j8JgskZCHJ
— NBC Sports Cycling (@NBCSCycling) April 27, 2025
This spring has been riddled with race organization blunders and near misses.
Last month at the men’s Paris-Roubaix, a fan hurled a half-filled water bottle at eventual winner Mathieu van der Poel as he powered over the Carrefour de l’Arbre.
The assailant was later identified, turned himself in, and publicly apologized, asking, “How could I do something so stupid?” French authorities are considering criminal charges.
Also read: Water-bottle tosser breaks silence
Van der Poel was also targeted earlier in the spring. During the E3 Saxo Classic, another spectator was caught on video spitting at the Dutch star as he sped past. In that case, Belgian authorities fined the perpetrator.
Early this season, riders mistakenly turned off-course during a sprint finish at the Volta ao Algarve and at the Étoile de Bessèges, entire teams left the French race, citing safety concerns after a string of incidents involving vehicles turning onto the course mid-race.
Also read: Teams abandon Bessèges
The incidents come as cycling’s major stakeholders are working behind the scenes to try to improve rider safety.
The so-called SafeR working group is introducing a series of steps, including the UCI’s new “yellow card” system and improved signage, to decrease the number of crashes and injuries.
On Sunday, Belgian officials had promised greater safety and vigilance as Liège closed out the spring classics.
But this weekend’s incidents are yet another reminder of the challenge of how to protect riders without losing the open-road atmosphere that makes cycling so unique.
