Opinion: Like it or not, Yves Lampaert’s crash with fan at Paris-Roubaix is part of bike racing

Had Yves Lampaert been leading Paris-Roubaix when he was taken out by a spectator, the witch-hunt would surely have already begun. As it was, the Belgian had been in possession of a shot at the podium. At most.

He’s achieved that before anyway, back in 2019, so let’s put the pitchforks down, shall we? Ad/> All the same, the individual responsible would probably be advised not to go autograph hunting at the QuickStep bus this evening. Patrick Lefevere is not exactly known for being “mild mannered” at the best of times. Paris — Roubaix‘He’s hit a spectator!’ – Disaster as fan wipes out rider in horror incident4 HOURS AGO As we speak they are — surely — reflecting on their actions and deeply mortified by the calamity caused by them.

Like you or I, their presence at the side of the road for the greatest of one-day races — no correspondence will be entered into on that one — and the very fact of their applauding, in the actual direction of the approaching athletes, rather than mugging for the TV cameras or taking a selfie, means they must be an ardent appreciator of the sport. That’s more than can be said for the Allez Opi Omi woman who effectively brought Tony Martin’s career to an end at last year’s Tour de France. For the crime of egregious narcissism she was suitably flogged with a copy of L’Equipe and fined by the French justice system.

Van Baarle wins as Ineos rip up dramatic Paris-Roubaix ‘We’ve never seen anything like that’ – Wiggins lauds ‘perfect’ Ineos You might be someone who believes that something should be done. And it would not be completely impossible to prevent such incidents from occurring. The measures that would need to be introduced, however, would either be entirely out of all proportion or be