Dutch cyclist Mathieu van der Poel pleaded guilty Monday to assaulting two teenagers at a hotel on the outskirts of Sydney and was sentenced to a fine of Australian dollars 1,500, Agence France-Presse reports citing judicial sources.
The same sources state that the Alpecin-Fenix rider, who was due to appear in Sutherland court on Tuesday, also near Sydney, was ordered to pay two fines, one of 1,000 and the other of AUD 500, one total. 1,010 euros.
The NOS reports that Van der Poel is already on the plane on his way to the Netherlands, after he has found his passport after paying the fines.
One of world cycling’s leading figures, Van der Poel, was arrested Saturday night, hours before he was due to compete in the Wollongong World Championships, for an altercation with two teenagers at the hotel where he was staying.
“There was a little fight. I wanted to go to bed early yesterday [sábado] at night, but there were many children in the corridor of the hotel, who kept knocking on my door. At one point I was fed up. I very kindly asked them to stop. Then the police were called and I was taken away,” the Dutch runner told reporters on Sunday, before the start of the World Championship long-distance race, which he would give up about 30 kilometers after the start.
Police in New South Wales (Australia), without ever identifying Van der Poel, confirmed to Agence France-Presse on Sunday that they had arrested a 27-year-old man (the cyclist’s age), accused of two counts of “assault” against two teenagers, 13 and 14 years old.
“By 22:40 [locais, menos nove horas em Lisboa] On Saturday, a man was involved in a verbal altercation with two teenagers aged 13 and 14 at a Brighton-Le-Sands hotel. According to the alleged facts, he pushed the two teenagers, one falling to the floor and the other being thrown against the wall, leaving a small scratch on his elbow,” the police said in a statement.
In the same note, Australia’s East Coast State Police stated that, following the incident, the hotel management was “informed” and “the police were then called”, with “a 27-year-old man being apprehended shortly afterwards”, being taken to the Kogarah Police Station, where he was charged with “two counts of assault”.
Released on bail, Van der Poel, one of the big candidates for the rainbow jersey, still competed in the long-distance race, won by Belgian Remco Evenepoel, but eventually gave up and was “mentally destroyed,” according to Alpecin’s manager.-Fenix , Christoph Roodhooft.
Source: DN
