After entering a guilty plea in front of the Australian courts, the Dutch runner was granted permission to depart the island continent for good.
The man begged “acceptable
But was successful in escaping Australia: After he argued with two adolescent girls and his night at the post, which resulted in his desertion at the Worlds on Sunday, Dutch rider Mathieu van der Poel was sentenced on Monday to ordinary fines. These incidents caused his withdrawal from the competition. According to his professional team Alpecin-Fenix, Van der Poel, who is 27 years old and one of the most prominent personalities in the current peloton, has departed Australia and was “on the road home” as of Monday evening. The team did not provide any specifics regarding the timing or place of Van der Poel’s arrival, but they did tell AFP that he was expected to return on Tuesday.
On Sunday morning, the information had caused amazement in Wollongong (southeast), on the starting line of the queen event of the world championships, of which the Dutchman was one of the favorites: arrested by the police, the runner had spent most of the night at the police station, accused of violence against two teenage girls aged 13 and 14, whose nocturnal noise at his hotel prevented him from sleeping. The girls’ ages ranged from 13 to 14. Sunday morning, the information had caused amazement in Wo Van der Poel would have swiftly dropped out of the race even if he had been able to get it started “mentally wrecked,” in Christoph Roodhooft’s words, who is a manager for Alpecin-Fenix.
Free to go
The multiple cyclo-cross world champion and winner of numerous road classics was initially brought to court in Sutherland, which is near Sydney, on Tuesday amid rumors that he was unable to leave the territory. He won several road races during his career. According to a source within the judicial system, Mathieu van der Poel entered a guilty plea on Monday and was immediately sentenced to two fines totaling 1,010 euros for “assault.” The first fine was for 1,000 dollars, and the second fine was in the amount of 500 Australian dollars. Michael Rowe, the runner’s attorney, said that his client plans to file an appeal at a later date, but that he is free to leave Australia in the meantime.
Sunday, the police in New South Wales acknowledged to the Associated Press (AFP) that a man aged 27 had been charged with two separate cases, but they did not divulge the identity of the suspect as they do every time.
aggressiveness”. “A male got into a verbal confrontation with two adolescent girls, ages 13 and 14, at a hotel in Brighton-Le-Sands at around 10.40 p.m. on Saturday. The girls were in their early teen years. The police had indicated that according to the alleged facts, he shoved the two teenage females, resulting in one of the girls falling to the ground and the other girl being flung into a wall, creating a little scratch on her elbow.
Mathieu van der Poel did not make any denials about the incident before the start of the race. “It’s true, there was a little disagreement,” he confirmed to the reporters there. “Yesterday evening (Saturday evening, editor’s note), I had every intention of going to bed early; but, several youngsters were playing in the hotel hallway, and they kept knocking on my door. After some time, I had had enough of it. I did not come across as particularly empathetic as I told them to cease their behavior. After that, the authorities were called, and they removed me from the scene,” he went on to say.
Disaster
The manager of Alpecin-Fenix had provided the same account when questioned by the press. Christoph Roodhooft had mentioned that when Van der Poel returned to his room at four in the morning, he had not been able to sleep at throughout the night. “It is by no means an ideal situation; in fact, it is a tragedy; yet, there is nothing I can do to change it. The runner had remarked, “I will do my best,” before quitting up after approximately thirty kilometers of running and hurriedly getting into an SUV without saying a word.
His competitors were caught off guard when they finally heard the news, which shook up the pack. “What? The quadruple holder of the French title Julian Alaphilippe had thrown himself to his coach, Thomas Voeckler, who informed him during the race of the cause for the abandoning of the Dutchman. “He said hey to me on departure!,” said Alaphilippe. “He said hello to me on departure!” As a result of his absence, the tournament was won by the primary favorite of the competition, the Belgian Remco Evenepoel, who is now the world champion.
In a press release issued on Monday evening, Alpecin-Fenix stated that “it goes without saying that everyone loses here, and we can only regret it.” The statement went on to specify that the company wanted to have “a clear picture of the course of events” and “a conversation with Mathieu van der Poel” before deciding on the “next steps.” She emphasized that respect for others, both inside and beyond the peloton, is and always has been a fundamental principle of the group.
Will Mathieu van der Poel, who has won the Dutch road championship twice (in 2018 and 2020) and a stage on the Tour de France in 2021, be able to put this controversy behind him when the season comes to a close? Because he gave up on Sunday, “he feels as though he has let down his country.” To arrive at such circumstances, there must first be a confluence of several factors… Me Rowe, who represented him, said that his client will grow from the experience.
