Mathieu van der Poel, who spent part of the night before the World Cup at the police station, only warned his teammates a few minutes before the start of the race. He arrived in Australia with a cold, he did not sleep on the same hotel floor as the rest of the delegation.
The retirement of Mathieu van der Poel on Sunday surprised more than one, even in their own ranks. According to the Dutch media OURthe rider for the Alpecin-Deceuninck team, who spent part of the night before the World Cup at the police station for an altercation with teenagers at his hotelhe would have warned his teammates just a few minutes before the start of the race.
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Mathieu van der Poel, convulsed after his arrest by the police in Australia
“Five minutes before the start, Mathieu told us and I told myself : “he’s laughing at us”. […] If there hadn’t been a leak, I don’t think we would have known about it before the race.”Pascal Eenkhoorn explained.
Bauke Mollema
“I thought it was a joke”
The same feeling for Bauke Mollema, who did not hide his surprise. ” I was in the car with him before departure and it was about a 45-minute drive. He said nothing. […] He briefly told us about it on the bus. I thought it was a joke, but it quickly turned out to be serious. We had a plan to play the podium with him. But when you have a night like that, of course it’s out of the question. »
Arriving in Australia with a cold, Van der Poel slept in the same hotel as the rest of the Dutch delegation, but not on the same floor. “With us nothing happened in the corridorreports Dylan van Baarle. It was quiet, I slept well. He slept with his girlfriend on the ninth floor, I think, and we in the fourth. I slept wonderfully well. »
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Alaphilippe’s reaction when Voeckler tells him about Van der Poel’s abandonment in the World Cup