Bauke Mollema didn't know about Mathieu van der Poel's arrest - "I didn't hear anything, slept fine. . I don't know exactly what happened"

Mathieu van der Poel spending the night in police custody hours before the World Cycling Championships was one of the main highlights of the event. Surprisingly his teammate, Bauke Mollema learnt about the incident much later even though he was staying in the same hotel.

"Exactly, I don't know either. It's bizarre," Mollema said.  "Right before the start, he said it in the motorhome. It's bizarre. I don't know exactly what happened," Mollema told NOS. "It's a shame to lose Mathieu there quickly because the plan was to compete for medals. That was no longer in the cards."

No one would have thought that Van der Poel will get into legal troubles just hours before one of the most important races of the season. "I didn't hear anything, slept fine. Then when you hear the news, it's bizarre. You think it's a joke, but it was serious. That's very unfortunate," he says. "We were all spread out. I only know where I was lying in the hotel,” said Mollema.

A 25th place finish for Mollema made him the best Dutchman in the results. "It was a bit of a crazy race. We rode as a team on the first climb, there it exploded and I was with them. But they kept attacking. It's a shame we didn't get a little more space. On those laps we were well in front with Taco van der Hoorn in front and we were right behind them. So we were able to save strength. When it blew up there was a big breakaway. Behind that nobody wanted to ride, then it was done,” concluded Mollema.