Van der Poel's lawyer confident he "will learn from this experience"

Mathieu van der Poel has undergone an extremely complicated week in Australia for the World Championships, not only failing to obtain any meaningful result, but leaving with a fine, a temporary ban from the country and the brief fear of being stuck for over a month due to passport complications.

In talks with NOS, van der Poel's lawyer Michael Bowe explained the situation that led to his arrest: “He was very frustrated because they knocked on his door and prevented him from sleeping. He went out to speak to them, they knocked on his door several times. He has provided evidence for this," he said. "It is very plausible that this happened. It is very disappointing that he has been convicted, but I will immediately challenge the decision.”

Van der Poel allegedly pushed two teenage girls in the hallway of the hotel the Dutch team were staying at throughout the week. After not being able to sleep and having several knocks on his door, he acted on emotion, and was later arrested. Although being released hours later, he was eventually incapable of racing the day after and abandoned shortly after the start. His passport was taken, and there were rumours that he could be trapped in Australia for an extended period of time.

"He was forced to pay a fine for the incident, but has however been given back his passport and is currently travelling back to the Netherlands," his lawyers added however. "The court ruling however has had it's negative effects. His girlfriend was in tears. And he was very disappointed with the result. He has a good reputation, his family has a good reputation. It is very unfortunate. I think there's a right way to look at this and maybe the ruling doesn't reflect that," Bowe said.

“He flew all the way to Australia, it's a huge event. Anyone who understands cycling knows how big the World Championship is... He told me he feels like he has let his country and the team down," he added.

“Many of us would do the same. Evenings and under pressure to perform. And everyone makes mistakes. He will learn from this experience," van der Poel's lawyer added with confidence.