Mathieu van der Poel: Cycling star apologises for hotel scandal

"I admit that I made a mistake. I never meant to hurt anyone," the Dutchman told "Het Laatse Nieuws" at Brussels airport. Van der Poel had an argument with two girls the night before the World Championship race on 25 September, who had disturbed his sleep by repeatedly knocking on his door.

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Because the 27-year-old allegedly pushed one of the girls, he was has been charged with assault. The cyclist was fined in Australia sentenced to the equivalent of 1000 euros and was then allowed to start his journey home.

Van der Poel apologises

The former cross world champion refuted the version that he had pushed a girl. Van der Poel emphasised that he had held the girl by the arm. "These rumours 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 pro. "I apologise that I made a mistake. I shouldn't have done that. I should have called the reception."

This is exactly what the judge had told him. Van der Poel had taken the law into his own hands through his actions. The medal candidate had spent a large part of the night before the World Championship race in the police station as a result of the charge. In the race itself, he got off his bike after just over an hour.

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