Mathieu van der Poel Arrested, Fined in Australia After Hotel Altercation

There was a major shakeup ahead of Sunday’s UCI World Championships Road Race, hours before riders headed to the start line. The Netherlands’ Mathieu van der Poel, one of the riders who would almost certainly be contending for the win in Wollongong, Australia, was involved in a hotel altercation that culminated in his arrest, subsequent fine, and flight home from Australia. While he started the road race, van der Poel abandoned it only 30 kilometers in, presumably tired after a night spent in jail and contemplating the legal battle ahead.

According to Dutch new site NOS, van der Poel spent Saturday night in jail in Australia after allegedly assaulting two young women at the hotel where he was staying. He was eventually fined a total of $1500 AUS for pushing both of the young women, aged 13 and 14. Reports stated that the young teens were playing a game of ‘knock and run’ at the hotel, making noise and making it hard for van der Poel to sleep. He eventually left his room, and according to NOS and police reports, pushed one girl into a wall and the other down to the ground. One of the girls sustained a small graze on her elbow.

VeloNews released a statement from Australian police around the incident: “Around 10:40 p.m., a man was involved in a verbal altercation with two teenage girls, ages 13 and 14. He allegedly pushed both girls, pushing one on fell and the other hit a wall, chafing her elbow. The hotel management was notified and called the police. Police arrested the 27-year-old man shortly after.”

Speaking to Sporza at the start line of World Championships the next day, van der Poel said: “It’s true, yes. There was a small dispute. It was about noisy neighbors and they are quite strict here... I went to bed early and many children in the hallway of my room found it necessary to knock on the door continuously... After a few times I was done with it. I didn’t ask so nicely to stop. Then the police were called and I was taken.”

He added, “I wasn’t back in my room until 4 o’clock. That’s certainly not ideal. It’s a disaster, but I can’t change anything anymore. I’m trying to make the best of it. It is on little sleep that I will race, hopefully on adrenaline. It was certainly not fun. It is what it is, I have to deal with it.”

NOS also later reported that none of his van der Poel’s teammates were aware of the situation until they were lining up at the start. Van der Poel was on the start line after being released from jail around 4 AM, but abandoned the race after 30 kilometers. Belgian racer Remco Evenepoel took the World Championship win, though it has to be said, van der Poel’s arrest clearly overshadowed the news of the race.

When van der Poel faced the court in Australia on Monday (expedited from his initial Tuesday court date), he was fined and his passport was returned to him. He was not given an allowance for the fact that this incident happened just ahead of World Championships, which his lawyer argued should have been considered a mitigating circumstance. “Many of us would do the same under pressure to perform. And everyone makes mistakes,” lawyer Michael Bowe argued in his defense, according to NOS. He added that after the ruling,“His [van der Poel] partner was in tears and he himself was very disappointed with the result. He told me that for him it feels like he has disappointed his country and his team.”

His teammates seemed to be confused by the situation as well—and a bit irritated that their race plans were rendered useless after their lead rider spent the night in jail. “I thought it was a joke, but it soon turned out to be serious,” Bauke Mollema told NOS. “We had a plan to join him for the medals. If you have a night like that, then of course it’s no longer possible.”

The Netherlands’ team management also seemed irate about the incident: "Mathieu comes up with it when the damage has already been done. If we know, we’ll arrange something,” national coach Koos Moerenhout stated. (Note that this is a translation of his initial statement.)

His Alpecin-Deceuninck team manager Christoph Roodhooft, however, stuck up for him, saying: “His World Cup [sic] is being thwarted in a stupid way. There were no parents with those children. Mathieu was tired of it at 00.00 and then he flew out of bed.”

Van der Poel has been successful since he was a young racer, amassing nearly a dozen World Championship titles in cyclocross and on the road since he was a junior. His first Worlds title came in 2012, and he’s continued winning since then.

What happens next? While van der Poel has returned to Europe after paying the fine, there still could be fallout from the incident. He could still face a ban on entering Australia for up to three years, though news reports allege that he plans to appeal the court’s initial ruling.

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