After arrest before World Championship race: Van der Poel faces further trouble
DPA
· 25.09.2022
After a night at the police station in Kogarah, co-favourite Mathieu van der Poel's dream of a medal at the World Cycling Championships was shattered.
Click through: All world champions of the 2022 World Cycling Championships
And the Dutchman is facing further trouble Down Under following his brief arrest for assault: the passport of the former cross-country world champion has been confiscated and it was initially reported that he would have to appear in court on Tuesday, In the meantime, however, his punishment has already been determined.
What had happened? On the eve of the World Championship race, van der Poel had an altercation with two children who had knocked on his door several times. According to reports, one girl's arm was injured. The police then turned up and took the cycling star to the police station. The 27-year-old was charged with two counts of assault and was released on bail early on Sunday morning. The grandson of legendary cycling star Raymond Poulidor went to the start of the road race, but gave up after just over an hour.
Police confirm van der Poel incident
"It's true, yes. There was a little argument," van der Poel told Belgian TV channel Sporza before the start. "It was about noisy neighbours and they are pretty strict here." He had gone to bed early. However, many children in the corridor of his room had found it necessary to knock on the door. "After a few times, I was done with it. I didn't ask nicely to stop. Then the police were called. I wasn't back in my room until 4.00 am. That's certainly not ideal. It's a disaster, but there's nothing I can do about it. I'm trying to make the best of it. I'll ride the race on little sleep, hopefully with adrenalin."
New South Wales Police later confirmed that a 27-year-old man was arrested and charged after allegedly being involved in an altercation with two teenage girls at a Sydney hotel. He allegedly pushed the two girls, causing one to fall and the other to hit a wall and suffer a minor graze to her elbow.
Sports director speaks out
Van der Poel was one of the favourites at the World Championships. But nothing came of it. "He's completely mentally down. He had great ambitions. He has been preparing for the World Championships for two months after the Tour de France didn't go as planned," said Dutch sports director Christoph Roodhoft.
The course would have suited van der Poel. The classics specialist has already won several tough one-day races such as the Tour of Flanders, the Amstel Gold Race and Strade Bianche. In 2021, he won the second stage of the Tour de France and wore the yellow jersey for six days.
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