"Van der Poel had every right to be angry, but not in that way" - Teenage girls' dad talks about World Championships altercation
Cycling
Mathieu van der Poel is still under heat following the altercation that happened in the Dutch team's hotel the night before the main event of the World Championships, and the father of the teenage girls he had a spat with talked to the media back in Australia.
The Daily Mail Australia has reached out to the teenage girls' parents, their dad told the news outlet: “They have worked themselves into nests. Van der Poel had every right to be angry, but not in that way. They're slim little kids and he's huge. Look, I did certain things at their age too. The youngest had corona a few weeks ago, so they were happy to be able to enjoy themselves again," he argued.
Read also
On the eve of the World Championships Road Race, van der Poel's night was disrupted by two teenage girls who repeatedly knocked on his door, causing him to get increasingly unsatisfied and eventually enter an altercation with them, leading to minor injuries after being pushed by the Dutchman. The video has sparked a lot of controversy, with all sides losing in this situation, which has seen van der Poel get arrested.
“They got a little naughty. I also told them that they made a mistake," her dad admitted. "I see my daughter knocking on the door in the video and I can see from the way she walks away that she was scared. The eldest is a daredevil, but this shocked her. The youngest was also in shock.”
The incident saw van der Poel's race finished in it's first kilometers, an estimate €1000 fine and a temporary passport removal which saw him briefly fearing up to six weeks in Australia. All that is behind now, but the Dutchman was question about the subject upon arriving back in Europe, and the incident remains a hot topic within the world of cycling as the World Championships fade away.
The dad said in the interview that he only later understood who van der Poel was. “I heard just before the race started that he was a cyclist and eventually had to give up at the World Championships. Well, I hadn't done what he did. I can imagine my girls knocking on the door, but I could see from the images that they were scared," he concluded.
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
claps 1visitors 1
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- Pidcock finished 9th place, 29 minutes down. he is a helluva rider, so gutsy. and he is amazing at all disciplines. but this headline is . . .mij09-11-2026
- I know, watch the video. and listen to her competitors. it was a tricky tacky call at best. WTF is this guy talking about??? my original comment was from the picture it didn't look like anything.mij09-11-2026
- I dunno what you're talking about. you make no sense. MS's competitor and the competitors coach said it was BS. she didn't deviate in a way that relegation should be required. revel LOL. you're so cool, in your own mind.mij09-11-2026
- deviation lol, watch the videomij09-11-2026
- the 'No different than women who follow and discuss celebs through gossip magazines' comment was unfortunately a bit off. didn't you just boast about your principles in the comments section of another article?Ketterechts08-11-2026
- Are you MrMauMau 2.0? Nothing you are saying is really relevant. Vaguely connected, but irrelevant. The conversation is whether Schreiber impeded Brand or not.
Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026 - He is boring
leedorney08-11-2026 - To Twoje przemyślenia te bla, bla :)
Dariusz08-11-2026 - Uwielbiam patrzeć, jak wyjeżdża na czoło peletonu i zaczyna się rzeź...Dariusz08-11-2026
- Yeah, unreal.
parisbound0008-11-2026
Loading
2 Comments