Dutch cyclist Mathieu van der Poel, who was the favourite going into the UCI Road World Championships elite men’s road race in Wollongong, was arrested and charged with common assault on Saturday night following an incident at his hotel.
He started the race on Sunday morning but retired after less than an hour of racing. Van der Poel is understood to have gone to sleep early ahead of the race, the biggest one-day event on the annual cycling calendar, only to be repeatedly woken by two teenage girls knocking on his door at the hotel in Brighton-Le-Sands, in Sydney’s south.
A spokesperson for New South Wales police told Guardian Australia that late on Saturday night, an unidentified 27-year-old man was allegedly involved in a verbal altercation at the hotel. “It’s further alleged the man then pushed both teenagers, with one falling to the ground and the other being pushed into a wall, causing a minor graze to her elbow,” the spokesperson said. “Hotel management were notified of the incident, who then called police.
Officers from St George police area command attended and arrested a 27-year-old man shortly after.” Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning The individual, understood to be Van der Poel, was taken to Kogarah police station and charged with two counts of common assault.