Dutch cyclist Mathieu van der Poel was arrested the night before the world championship road race in Wollongong, Australia after a verbal altercation in a hotel with two underage girls.
Despite the police having released him early in the morning, Van der Poel gave up the race itself after about 35 kilometers of the total portion of nearly 267.
According to information from the Belgian Sporza station, the whole incident occurred after children knocked several times on the door of Van der Poel’s hotel room. One of the biggest stars of contemporary cycling, who should have aspired to a medal in today’s race starting in series, then had a fight with them before eleven in the evening. Eventually, the summoned police had to take care of everything.
“Yes, that’s right. There was a little discussion about noisy neighbors. And here they are very strict. I went to bed early, but several children in the hallway around my room had the urge to knock on my door several times. . Then he couldn’t stand it. And I didn’t exactly ask them politely to stop. Then the police were called, “Van der Poel said. He added that he did not return to the room until four in the morning.
“Obviously it wasn’t ideal before the race. It’s more of a disaster, but I can’t change anything about it. I’ll try to do my best anyway,” four-time cyclocross world champion Van der Poel planned the race earlier. won at the end by the Belgian Remco Evenepoel.
But he denied that there was physical contact. However, according to police reports, she pushed both girls and one of them allegedly injured her elbow during the fall, which was also the main reason the hotel management called the police.
New South Wales police confirmed in a statement that a 27-year-old man had been arrested on two counts of assault. “At around 10:40 pm on Saturday, he had a fight with two girls aged 13 and 14 at the Grand Parade Hotel,” a police spokesman said.
“It was also alleged that this man then pushed the two teenagers, one of whom fell to the ground and the other hit a wall in the fall, causing a small scratch on the elbow. The incident was reported to the management of the ‘hotel which subsequently called the police and the man was then arrested, “police said.
Van der Poel was released on bail after his arrest, but for him the matter does not end there. The police seized his passport and he is expected to go to court on Tuesday.
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