Category Archives: Cycling Road World Championships

Mathieu van der Poel: Dutch cyclist pleads guilty to common assault of girls on eve of world championships

Posted on by

Van der Poel flies out of Australia after being fined A$1,500 in local court but lawyer says his client will appeal convictions

Dutch cycling star Mathieu van der Poel will attempt to overturn a conviction for assaulting two teenage girls in a Sydney hotel the night before the men’s world championship road race.

The Tour de France stage winner was arrested hours before Sunday’s race in Wollongong where the 27-year-old was one of the favourites.

Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning

Continue reading...

Cycling Road World Championships favourite Mathieu van der Poel charged with assault in Sydney

Posted on by

Dutch cyclist retires early from Wollongong race following alleged night-time altercation with teenagers at hotel

Dutch cyclist Mathieu van der Poel, who was the favourite going into the UCI Road World Championships elite men’s road race in Wollongong, was arrested and charged with common assault on Saturday night following an incident at his hotel.

He started the race on Sunday morning but retired after less than an hour of racing.

Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning

Continue reading...

Cycling journalist believes governing body blocked him from world championships for critical reporting

Posted on by

Iain Treloar says Union Cycliste International blacklisted him after he examined its links to a Turkmen autocrat and a Russian billionaire

A respected cycling journalist who was twice blocked from attending the Wollongong world cycling championships believes he has been blacklisted for reporting on the governing body’s links to a notoriously repressive regime and a Russian billionaire under sanctions.

Investigative journalist Iain Treloar’s recent reporting has posed uncomfortable questions for the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) – the powerful governing body for world cycling.

Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning

Continue reading...

Ellen van Dijk pips Grace Brown to win Road World Championships opener

Posted on by
  • Dutchwoman defends time trial crown in Wollongong
  • Australia’s Brown set blistering early pace on first day of cycling

The sun was shining, the waves were rolling in and a Dutch woman was winning the opening race of 2022 UCI Road World Championships. It was seemingly the natural way of things – a predictable result in a flawless setting on the beachside streets of Wollongong, as Ellen van Dijk defended her women’s individual time trial crown and the Dutch national team won the sixth edition of the race over the past decade.

But if the 35-year-old’s victory on Sunday seemed predestined – her third world title since first winning the discipline in 2013, alongside four European time trial titles – it almost wasn’t to be. Australia’s Grace Brown sat in the hot-seat all day, after starting in the opening wave of riders and setting a blistering pace over a technical, undulating 34.2-kilometre course.

Continue reading...