After his return to Europe, cycling star Mathieu van der Poel commented on the hotel scandal during the World Cup in Australia. “I admit that I made a mistake. I never wanted to hurt anyone,” the Dutchman told Het Laatse Nieuws at Brussels Airport on Tuesday. Van der Poel had an argument the night before Sunday’s World Championship race with two girls who had disturbed his sleep by repeatedly knocking on his door.
Because the 27-year-old is said to have pushed one of the girls, he was reported for assault. On Monday, van der Poel was fined the equivalent of 1,000 euros in Australia and was then allowed to return home.
The former cross world champion contradicted the version that he pushed a girl. Van der Poel emphasized that he held the girl’s arm. “These rumors that I pushed someone are not true. There are two sides to the story, but in Australia it was difficult to prove that,” said the Alpecin professional. “I apologize for making a mistake. I shouldn’t have done that. I should have called the front desk.”
That’s exactly what the judge told him to do. Through his actions, Van der Poel took the law into his own hands. As a result of the complaint, the medalist had spent much of the night before the World Championship race at the police station. In the race itself, he got off his bike after a good hour.