Mathieu van der Pol was not sleeping peacefully the night before Sunday's elite men's road race at the UCI Road World Championships, but was at the police station following a noise disturbance at his hotel and subsequent altercation.

"It's true," he said. 'There was a bit of a dispute. 'It's pretty tough here with the neighbors being so noisy.' [It was four o'clock when I got back to my room. It's certainly not ideal. It was a disaster, but nothing can change that now. I'm just trying to do my best."

Van der Pol abandoned the elite men's road race after the first 35 km of the 266.9 km event.

As the peloton completed the coastal section and crossed the line at Wollongong, the finish line less than 240 km later, Van der Pol could be seen hanging at the back of the pack with his teammates trying to help him.

As the race approached the Mount Cayla circuit, the race's live commentary team reported that his retirement had been confirmed and that he was listed as DNF in the results. Christophe Roudhoft, director of Alpecin de Seuninck, told the Australian media, "He didn't sleep all night. "He didn't sleep all night and of course he was a little tired mentally. "He was very much looking forward to this day and after a bad Tour de France he did everything he could in the last two months. He's got a lot of joy and happiness back in his cycling and he wanted to have a good race today."

Cycling News contacted the New South Wales Police about the incident at the hotel.

New South Wales Police said they could not confirm who was involved in the incident, but that at 10:40 p.m. on Saturday, a man at the hotel where the Dutch team is staying allegedly got into an argument with two teenage girls, ages 13 and 14.

"In addition, the man allegedly pushed the two teenagers, causing one to fall to the ground and the other to be pushed against a wall, suffering minor abrasions to his elbow," NSW police said in a statement sent to Cycling News.

"Hotel management was informed of the incident and notified the police.

"Officers from the St. George Police Area Command attended and shortly after arrested a 27-year-old man. He was taken to the Kogarah police station and charged with two counts of general assault."

"The man was arrested by the police and charged with two counts of general assault.

The statement added that he was granted conditional bail to appear in court on Tuesday, September 27, 2022.

Van der Pol further described the incident at the hotel from his perspective in an interview with Sporza (opens in new tab).

"When I went to bed early, many children in the hallway of my room kept knocking on the door. After a few knocks I decided I had had enough. I did not ask them to stop. When asked if it was physical, Roodhoft replied, "No, it wasn't," and also confirmed that Van der Poel's passport had been taken away. 'When something like that happens and you're not an Australian citizen, six weeks seems to be the standard procedure. 'That is my understanding. After meeting with the person responsible, he will be back.'

Cycling News has reached out to the Dutch team for further comment.

Van der Pol was among the favorites to win the men's elite race. The race centered on a heavy urban circuit of 12 corners radiating out from Wollongong, with a short but punchy climb up Mount Pleasant.

The Dutch team, which was staying at a hotel in Sydney overlooking Botany Bay, has not had it easy so far at the road world championships in Australia, suffering a disastrous defeat in the mixed relay team time trial on Wednesday.

The men's team of van der Pol, Bauke Mollema, and Daan Hoole was quickly reduced to two riders when Mollema suffered a mechanical problem. Then things got worse as the women's group consisting of Annemiek van Grooten, Ellen van Dijk, and Liegenne Marx tried to improve their time. Van Fluten immediately crashed and broke her elbow. She did, however, take an impressive victory in Saturday's elite women's road race. The first Dutchman in the men's elite race was Bauke Mollema. He finished 25th in a group battling for the bottom step of the podium after Lemko Evenpole (Belgium) dominated first place with a solo attack.