Van der Poel bracht de nacht van zaterdag op zondag in de cel door omdat hij twee meisjes een duw had gegeven.
nos.nl
Text below. Sounds like he will fight it later but wants to prioritise getting back to Europe. It still blows my mind this occurred and derailed a worlds challenge.
Cyclist Mathieu van der Poel has been convicted in Australia for the confrontation with two girls in a hotel in Sydney. The judge fined him $1,000 for pushing one girl and $500 for the other girl. Converted into a total of just over a thousand euros.
The judge counted it heavily on Van der Poel that he took the law into his own hands. According to the judge, he should not have done that, but should have called the hotel security.
Van der Poel spent the night from Saturday to Sunday in jail for pushing the girls aged 13 and 14. He did that because they were making noise and knocking repeatedly on his door. He became frustrated because he couldn't sleep just before his participation in the World Cup.
He pushed one girl against a wall and the other girl he pushed down causing her arm to hurt. The fact that Van der Poel as a professional cyclist had an important race ahead of him was not a mitigating circumstance for the court.
Appeal against decision
The lawsuit against the cyclist was supposed to take place on Tuesday, but because he is flying back home today, the court's agenda was adjusted. Van der Poel's lawyer had asked for this.
Van der Poel flies back home at 10 a.m. Dutch time. His lawyer says he will appeal against the ruling and hopes that the rider will be acquitted. Van der Poel did not want to comment after the lawsuit.