Woman who attacked Van der Poel can avoid punishment if she reveals her identity: "Then we can keep the case out of court"

The woman who attempted to throw a cap into Mathieu van der Poel's wheel during Paris-Roubaix might be able to avoid punishment. The French cycling union has initiated legal action against her but is willing to withdraw the charges if she meets three conditions.

The white cap, thrown by the Belgian woman, fortunately missed its target. Van der Poel continued and completed his impressive solo ride in Roubaix. The incident was immediately picked up by the media and widely discussed on social media. "It has weighed heavily on her. She is a cycling fan herself. How it happened, I won't go into detail. But I want to emphasize on her behalf that she never intended to cause harm to anyone," her lawyer stated.

Despite this, the French professional cyclists' union (UNCP) has made a legal issue of it. However, the union's president, Pascal Chartier, has expressed a willingness to settle in a statement. "Just to be clear: the legal proceedings are still ongoing, but our lawyer spoke with the woman's lawyer by phone on Tuesday. We are willing to keep the case out of court if she agrees to our proposals," Chartier explained.

Read more below the photo.

Woman that threw cap must step forward

These proposals include three conditions. The woman must admit her action and perform volunteer work for the association 'Friends of Paris-Roubaix.' What these tasks entail has not been specified. The third condition is perhaps the most surprising: the woman, who has remained anonymous up to this point, must come forward and participate in a campaign. She is expected to deliver a public message about cycling safety on camera. "These are our requests to her. If she finds them impossible, then the court will still have to deal with this unfortunate matter," Chartier added.

Whether the woman is prepared to step forward in this manner remains to be seen. Her lawyer confirms that they have received the three demands from the UNCP. "We will now thoroughly discuss them to see if we can comply. My client is willing to take responsibility, but we first want to carefully review the proposals."