Climate Protester Disrupts Ronde van Brugge, Causing Mass Crash
A climate protester caused chaos at the Ronde van Brugge on Wednesday, March 25, 2026, after stepping onto the course and sitting in front of the approaching peloton, leading to a significant crash involving multiple riders. The incident occurred approximately 30 kilometers from the finish line on a cobblestone section of the race route.
The activist, identified as Wouter Mouton, a known figure in environmental and pro-Palestinian protests, was quickly detained by local police. Authorities are investigating whether his actions directly caused the crash, according to reports from DHnet.
Several riders were involved in the fall, with UAE Emirates-XRG sprinter Juan Molano, the defending race champion, among those forced to abandon the race. The crash prompted an official complaint from race organizers, as detailed in VeloNews. The disruption came during the 50th edition of the UCI World Tour 1.UWT one-day cycling road race.
Mouton has a history of disruptive protests, including climbing barriers at the 2022 Tour of Flanders, defacing Bruges City Hall and gluing himself to a Johannes Vermeer painting at the Mauritshuis museum in the Netherlands, as reported by road.cc and VeloNews. He was wearing a t-shirt with the slogan “kids dying by the climate crisis” at the time of the incident.
Police have administratively arrested Mouton and are continuing their investigation. La Libre.be reports that a judicial investigation has also been opened.
