Van der Poel fined for hotel incident, allowed to fly home
Van der Poel fined for hotel incident, allowed to fly home
Mathieu van der Poel is on his way home to the Netherlands from Australia after receiving fines totalling AU$1,500 related to his confrontation with two teenage girls in his hotel Saturday night, according to NOS. He will not be allowed into Australia for three years following the judge’s ruling, which found him guilty of assault.
Van der Poel reportedly pushed one of the girls against a wall and another to the floor, injuring her arm, after the two teenagers repeatedly knocked on his door, preventing him from sleeping. The Dutchman spent much of the night in custody, returning to his hotel at 4 am, roughly six hours before he was set to begin the elite men’s world championship road race.
Despite the incident, Van der Poel was cleared to start the Worlds road race on Sunday. He pulled out after 30 kilometers.
Van der Poel’s court appearance was originally set for Tuesday September 27, and local authorities confiscated his passport. The date was changed at the request of his lawyer because his flight back to Europe was scheduled for late Monday. Van der Poel has denied pushing the children and his lawyer indicated that he would appeal the court’s decision to hand down a AU$1,000 fine for pushing one girl and $500 for pushing the other.
According to NOS, Van der Poel declined to comment.
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