Dutch cyclist Mathieu van der Poel has admitted assaulting two teenage girls before he was scheduled to take part in the elite men's road race at the World Championships in Wollongong.
It had been alleged that the two girls - aged 13 and 14 - repeatedly knocked on the door of the 27-year-old's Brighton-Le-Sands hotel room on Saturday night, the day before he was due to race.
In response, Van der Poel pushed one of the girls and grabbed the other by the arm, leading to his arrest after police were called to the scene by hotel management not long after.
One of the girls reportedly sustained a minor graze to her arm, but Van der Poel - who confirmed the truth of the incident to Belgian media outlet Sporza - still started Sunday's race before dropping out after 30km.
The six-time Cyclo-cross world champion has now pleaded guilty to the charges of common assault, and he has been handed fines totalling A$1,500 (£896).
However, Van der Poel was permitted to leave Australia on Monday evening, and his lawyer Michael Bowe is understood to be preparing an appeal against the conviction, which will be lodged on Tuesday.
Without Van der Poel leading the Netherlands team in the 267km elite men's road race, Remco Evenepoel of Belgium took the gold medal, with France's Christophe Laporte and Australia's Michael Matthews placing second and third respectively. body check tags ::
