Tour of Flanders 2022 – Climate protester finishes in top 10 after leapfrogging barrier and risking crash

Updated 03/04/2022 at 16:37 GMT

There were concerning scenes at the Tour of Flanders (aka Ronde van Vlaanderen) as a spectator got dangerously close to the action in the home straight. The race was won by Mathieu van der Poel ahead of Dylan van Baarle after a bizarre finale, which saw the Belgian and Tadej Pogacar almost slow to a halt to invite Van Baarle and Valentin Madouas into a showdown they were once long adrift of.

Van der Poel v Pogacar showdown in Flanders almost interrupted by climate protester

A protester leapfrogged the barrier and ran down the finishing straight as Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Fenix) took victory at the Tour of Flanders.

As all eyes were fixed on the intriguing and bizarre sprint showdown between Van der Poel and Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates), a spectator risked a serious incident by suddenly joining the action.

The man – donning a T-shirt demanding “climate justice now” – ran out into the middle of the finish straight as the front quartet swept past.

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After crossing the line in the top 10, he then stood at the finish as the rest of the field sprinted home, with the back of his shirt declaring “do you eat animal corpses?”

Van der Poel won the race ahead of Dylan van Baarle (Ineos Grenadiers) and Valentin Madouas (Groupama-FDJ) after Pogacar inexplicably decided not to drive on the pace in the closing stages.

It is the latest in a string of climate protests to hit sport in recent weeks. Everton’s Premier League match with Newcastle United was delayed for eight minutes after a spectator cuffed themselves to a goalpost, while another protester tried to do a similar trick during Tottenham’s match with West Ham.