Monday 26 September 2022 02:50 AM Elite Dutch cyclist accused of assaulting two teenage girls in hotel breaks his ... trends now
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The Dutch cycling star who sensationally withdrew from a world championship road race has broken his silence for the first time since being charged with assaulting two teenage girls.
Mathieu van der Poel, 27, who has won a stage on the Tour de France and Giro d'Italia, is 'shattered' over the alleged incident with the girls aged 13 and 14, according to his Team Alpecin-Deceuninck boss, Christoph Roodhooft.
'He didn't sleep all night and was mentally a bit broken as well,' Roodhooft told reporters.
'He was expecting a lot of this day (race) and did all he could in the last two months after his bad Tour de France.
'He had found joy and happiness again in cycling and was hoping to have a nice race today.'
He will face court after he was arrested and charged just hours before the race, where he was one of the title favourites for the 2022 UCI Road World Championships - a 266.9km race being held in Wollongong, south of Sydney.
Police allege the athlete physically confronted the 13 and 14-year-old girls at the Novotel in Brighton Le Sands on Saturday evening
