Van der Poel pleads guilty to assault but leaves Australia after Worlds hotel altercation

Alpecin Deceuninck teams Dutch rider Mathieu Van Der Poel awaits the start of the 5th stage of the 109th edition of the Tour de France cycling race 1537 km between Lille and Arenberg Porte du Hainaut in northern France on July 6 2022 Photo by Marco BERTORELLO AFP Photo by MARCO BERTORELLOAFP via Getty Images
(Image credit: MARCO BERTORELLO AFP via Getty Images)

Mathieu van der Poel has been allowed to leave Australia after pleading guilty and paying a $1,500 fine for his alleged altercation with two teenagers the night before the elite men’s road race at the World Championships in Wollongong.

According to Dutch broadcaster NOS, who followed the court proceedings and spoke to Van der Poel’s Australian lawyer, the rider is already on a flight home after paying the fine and obtaining his passport. Van der Poel's lawyer plans to appeal against the sentence, aiming to set aside the convictions.

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Stephen Farrand
Head of News

Stephen is the most experienced member of the Cyclingnews team, having reported on professional cycling since 1994. He has been Head of News at Cyclingnews since 2022, before which he held the position of European editor since 2012 and previously worked for Reuters, Shift Active Media, and CyclingWeekly, among other publications.