Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike) and Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) have expressed solidarity with Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) in pursuit of greater rider safety at races after the Dutchman was struck in the face by a bidon thrown by a spectator at Paris-Roubaix.
The incident occurred 33km from the finish as Van der Poel rode solo to victory ahead of Pogačar after the world champion crashed out of contention for the win. The Dutchman was seen recoiling from the impact on the TV broadcast, describing it as "like a stone hitting my face" and "attempted manslaughter".
While they may be great rivals on the road, Van Aert and Pogačar both echoed Van der Poel's thoughts that this type of behaviour has no place at a bike race.
"People who behave like that are not welcome on the race as far as I’m concerned," said Wout van Aert post-race, reported by Het Laatste Nieuws.
"Cycling is a sport where you can get close to the athletes and that makes us unique compared to many other sports. I really enjoyed the thousands of supporters on the sidelines yesterday and in recent weeks.
"But our sport is dangerous enough without people starting to throw things at us from the crowd. I applaud Mathieu for expressing himself so strongly and I hope it helps to prevent this from happening in the future."
Van der Poel has been subject to several incidents involving spectators in recent years, with beer and urine being hurled at him on both the cyclocross field and on the road. The bidon incident in Paris-Roubaix has seen the public prosecutor's office in Lille start an investigation into a spectator for the second year running after a woman threw a cap at his back wheel en route to solo victory in Roubaix 12 months ago.
Pogačar has shared three all-time battles with Van der Poel at Milan-San Remo, the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix this year, and he was reportedly "disgusted" by the incident in quotes reported by the Belgian newspaper.
He asked "that fans behave responsibly and be respectful towards the riders so that we can do our work in peace."
"Cycling has a unique relationship with its fans. Supporters can experience the races so closely, and the access to the riders is amazing," he said to HLN.
"They stand by the roadside for hours or even days to cheer on everyone, from the first to the last rider, regardless of their team or nationality, and that is a great thing in our sport.
"As riders, we thrive on the energy and atmosphere that the fans create and we want them to be passionate, but there is no room for aggression or unwanted behaviour like we saw on Sunday. Cycling is a beautiful sport, the fans are part of it and we want to keep it that way."
The spectator in question handed himself in to police in Belgium on Monday, however, it remains unknown whether the man will be charged, or how any criminal proceedings will be handled, given the incident took place in France.
Van der Poel's team Alpecin-Deceuninck condemned the act in a statement released on Monday, stating that "we will be filing an official complaint against the perpetrator to formally denounce this behaviour", while also noting that it goes further than one incident.
"Too often, we observe that such misconduct is either caused by or accompanied by excessive alcohol consumption," said the team.
"It jeopardizes the safety of our riders, overshadows the enjoyment and reputation of genuine cycling enthusiasts, and diverts attention from the sporting achievements."
Cycling's governing body, the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), released a similar statement of support, vowing to "explore, in conjunction with the competent authorities, all the legal channels at their disposal so that such behaviour is duly and severely punished."
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