Mathieu van der Poel abandoned the UCI Road World Championships on Sunday after he was left "mentally broken" from being arrested in Sydney.
The Dutchman was charged with two counts of common assault at Kogarah Police Station following an alleged incident involving two teenage girls at a hotel on Saturday evening.
Van der Poel was granted conditional bail by New South Wales Police and will appear at Sutherland Local Court on Tuesday.
The 27-year-old had been among the favourites to be crowned world champion in Wollongong, but withdrew with 230 kilometres to go after revealing he only got back to his hotel from the police station at 4am.
Christoph Roodhooft, boss of the Alpecin-Deceuninck team Van der Poul rides for, said: "It was really unexpected. Obviously there were children bouncing at his door [in the hotel] and after the third he was p***** off with them. He went out and it seemed like it was children, teenagers, and someone called the police and they asked him to go to give an explanation.
"He was asked by the police to tell them what happened, then he could sign [papers] and then he could go. There were children in the corridor playing and he went out to ask them to stop but obviously not in the right way."
Roodhooft added of Van der Poel's withdrawal from the race: "We didn't talk about the situation, but sporting wise he was really disappointed. He didn't sleep all night and mentally he was a bit broken. He was expecting a lot from today and he did everything he could in the last two months after his bad Tour de France. He found joy and happiness again in cycling and was hoping for a nice race again."
Prior to the start of the race, Van der Poel explained what had occurred the night before.
He told Sporza: "It's true, yes. There was a small dispute. It was about noisy neighbours and they are quite strict here. I went to bed early and many children in the hallway of my room found it necessary to knock on the door continuously.
"After a few times, I was done with it. I didn't ask so nicely to stop. Then the police were called, and I was taken. I wasn't back in my room until four o'clock."
NSW Police said in a statement: "About 10.40pm (Saturday 24 September 2022), a 27-year-old man was at a hotel on The Grand Parade, Brighton-Le-Sands, when he was allegedly involved in a verbal altercation with two teenage girls – aged 13 and 14.
"It's further alleged the man then pushed both teenagers, with one falling to the ground and the other being pushed into a wall causing a minor graze to her elbow.
"Officers from St George Police Area Command attended and arrested a 27-year-old man shortly after. He was taken to Kogarah Police Station and charged with two counts of common assault.
"He was granted conditional bail to appear at Sutherland Local Court on Tuesday 27 September 2022."
Jack Miller stormed to his first victory of the season and Francesco Bagnaia's MotoGP title hopes suffered a blow when he crashed on the last lap of the Grand Prix of Japan.
Ducati rider Miller dominated a dramatic race on a dry Sunday in Motegi to the chequered flag, with Brad Binder second and Jorge Martin edging out Marc Marquez to take his place on the podium.
Fabio Quartararo could only finish eighth, but it proved to be a good day for the championship leader as title rival Bagnaia ended up in the gravel when he tried to pass the Frenchman from ninth place.
That costly mistake left Quartararo leading by 18 points with four rounds to go, with third-placed Aleix Espargaro having endured the nightmare of starting from the pits rather than six place as he had to change his bike before the start due to technical issue and finished way back in 16th.
Marquez claimed his first pole for three years on a wet Saturday, but it was Binder who got off to a dream start as he bolted from third on the grid to hit the front.
Martin then passed Binder, but Miller took the lead with 22 laps to go and never looked like losing it in a brilliant ride from the Australian.
There was a yellow flag after Takuya Tsuda retired with his bike on fire in his homeland and Marquez was scenting a 100th podium in the premier class in his 150th race when he moved ahead of Miguel Oliveira into fourth place.
Binder then passed Martin late on to take second before Bagnaia paid the price for pushing a little too hard on the last lap, missing out on points in a stunning finale.
Miller, who started in seventh spot, eased to his fourth MotoGP victory and eight-time world champion Marquez had to settle for an impressive fourth spot in his second race back following a fourth operation on his right arm.
Mitch Duke and debutant Jason Cummings scored as Australia beat New Zealand 2-0 in Auckland on Sunday to secure back-to-back wins over the All Whites ahead of the 2022 World Cup.
The Socceroos had beaten New Zealand 1-0 in Brisbane on Thursday and triumphed again at Eden Park despite fielding an entirely different starting XI, netting twice in the second half.
New Zealand arguably were the better side in the first half with a handful of half chances, but lost star striker Chris Wood to an apparent rib injury in the 32nd minute.
Marco Tilio inexplicably missed a golden opportunity on the stroke of half-time from Duke's cutback before the Japan-based forward headed in Connor Metcalfe's cross in the 54th minute.
The hosts had a sniff in the 68th minute when Harrison Delbridge turned over possession in a dangerous area but substitute Alexander Greive fired straight at Australia goalkeeper Andrew Redmayne.
Exciting Socceroos teenager Garang Kuol made his debut as a substitute and burst forward to set up Riley McGree's chance, which was saved before Cummings' rebound was handballed by Liberato Cacace, resulting in an Australia penalty.
Scotland-born Cummings stepped up and converted the 81st-minute spotkick to secure the win in Australia's final game before announcing their World Cup squad.
Aaron Judge remains rooted on 60 home runs for the season after he was kept homerless for the fourth straight game in the New York Yankees' 7-5 win over the Boston Red Sox on Saturday.
Judge had one walk but ended up none-for-three with two strikeouts and a fly out to medium center as the wait draws on to pull level with Roger Maris' franchise and American League (AL) record of 61 home runs in a single season.
The Yankees outfielder was left frustrated when he tried to hold his swing on a wide 2-2 fastball but umpire Chris Conroy signaled a third strike.
"Even for a guy that hit 60 home runs, he still doesn't hit them every day," Yankees coach Aaron Boone said. "A lot of things got to line up to go deep, even for the best of the best. So as long as he continues to take good at-bats and make good swing decisions, it'll happen sooner rather than later."
Judge's showing meant his batting average dropped to .314, with Boston's Xander Bogaerts going two-for-four to move ahead of him at .315, denting the Yankee's triple crown hopes.
Anthony Rizzo's seventh-inning two-run blast earned the Yankees the win in front of a sell-out crowd after scores were locked at 5-5.
Manoah helps Blue Jays claim key win
Alex Manoah led the way as the Toronto Blue Jays regained the top AL Wild Card spot with a 3-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays.
Manoah sent down seven shutout innings with eight strikeouts – including his 300th career K - allowing only four hits with two walks.
Whit Merrifield hit a seventh-inning three-run blast to open up a three-run lead, capping a strong week after two homers against the Rays on Thursday.
The win means the Blue Jays (85-67) lead the Rays (84-68) by one game for the first AL Wild Card spot. The Seattle Mariners (83-68) are next.
Padres make ground in NL Wild Card hunt
Yu Darvish claimed his 16th win of the season as the San Diego Padres defeated the Colorado Rockies 9-3 to climb into second spot in the National League (NL) Wild Card race.
Darvish finished with eight strikeouts across six innings, allowing only five hits and two runs, but the Padres pulled clear with a six-run seventh inning.
Jake Cronenworth and Ha-Seong Kim both had two-run singles amid the seventh inning where they turned a tight game into a rout. The Padres move to 84-68, ahead of the Philadelphia Phillies (83-68) in the NL Wild Card race.
Hirving Lozano netted a late goal to earn Mexico an uninspiring 1-0 victory over Peru in their friendly in Pasadena on Saturday.
El Tri, who will play three more games prior to the 2022 World Cup, were made to work hard for the win in an evenly contested match with few shots on target.
Lozano's 85th-minute strike was the difference, firing home on the volley after Cesar Montes had nodded on a corner.
Mexico forward Henry Martin pushed a 19th-minute header wide, while Ajax midfielder Edson Alvarez fired a long-range effort over the crossbar early in the second half.
Peru, who missed out on World Cup qualification to Australia in the playoffs, had 9-7 shots and marginally edged possession but failed to generate much in attack.
Mexico, who are grouped with Poland, Argentina and Argentina at the World Cup, will take on Colombia in Santa Clara on Tuesday.
The Chicago White Sox have confirmed that manager Tony La Russa will not return to the dugout this season.
La Russa, 78, has been out since late August due to a heart ailment, which had initially forced him to step away from his role indefinitely.
The White Sox manager has been advised by doctors not to manage again this year, after undergoing additional testing and medical procedures over the past week. It remains to be seen if he returns in 2023.
Bench coach Miguel Cairo will continue as acting manager for the White Sox, who have under-achieved this season with a 76-75 record to be second in the American League Central.
La Russa had returned to lead the White Sox in 2021, his second stint in charge after leading the side from 1979 to 1986, before lengthy stints with the Oakland Athletics (1986-1995) and the St Louis Cardinals (1996-2011).
He is a three-time World Series champion, triumphing in 1989, 2006 and 2011, and is a four-time Manager of the Year winner.
Local hope Brandon Nakashima will take on Marcos Giron in the San Diego Open final after the latter shocked top seed Daniel Evans in Saturday's semi-finals.
World number 58 Giron upset Evans 6-3 7-5 in one hour and 46 minutes, qualifying for his maiden ATP Tour final.
San Diego native Nakashima progressed into the decider after getting past Australian Christopher O'Connell 6-4 7-6 (7-3).
Nakashima's triumph means he is into his first tour-level final of the season and it has come in familiar territory.
The fifth seed needed one hour and 50 minutes to beat O'Connell, who had the edge in the key statistics, including 8-7 aces, 34-31 winners and 13-16 unforced errors.
But Nakashima came up big when it mattered, managing the only break of the match in the first set, before triumphing in a tiebreak.
Giron produced the surprise result against world number 25 Evans, who was chasing his first-ever ATP Tour title.
The American sent down 11 aces, while he also hit 40-25 winners. Evans was unable to convert any of the three break points he generated throughout the match.
The Internationals have charged back into contention ahead of the final day of the Presidents Cup but still trail 11-7 at Quail Hollow in North Carolina.
USA had led 8-2 heading into Saturday's action that included four morning foursome matchups followed by four fourball contests, with Australia’s Cam Davis and South Korean Kim Joo-hyung starring for the under-dog International team.
The Internationals won two of the morning's foursome matchups and three of the fourball contests to make up major ground but will need win 8.5 points from the 12 on offer on the final day with singles to determine the winner.
If the International team win, it would be the greatest last day comeback in Presidents Cup history and their first victory since 1998 in Melbourne, the team's sole triumph.
"I'm almost in tears," Internationals captain Trevor Immelman said. "I'm so proud of these guys. We've fought so hard. We've had to be so patient."
"We’ve got a very long way to go. We know how tough the Americans are in singles. But today was a great day for us. This team has been through a lot."
Debutant Kim Joo-hyung had one of the moments of the day, sinking a 10-foot birdie putt at the 18th hole to clinch a 1up victory with Kim Si-woo against the previously unbeaten Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay.
The South Korean emotionally reveled in victory after the putt, having holed a 54-foot eagle putt on the 11th hole. In a seesawing fourball contest, Schauffele also putted in from 37 feet on the 15th.
Davis, paired with compatriot Adam Scott, was crucial with late putts in their 1up fourball victory over Sam Burns and Billy Horschel.
On the par-five 16th, Davis sunk an 11-foot eagle putt to win the hole, before making a 14-foot birdie putt to claim the 17th. Davis backed that up with a nine-foot birdie putt to tie 18 and secure the win.
The unbeaten Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas defeated Hideki Matsuyama and Taylor Pendrith 4 and 3 for USA's only fourballs win, while Im Sung-jae and Sebastian Munoz never trailed as they got past Tony Finau and Kevin Kisner 3 and 2.
In the morning's foursomes, Lee Kyoung-hoon and Kim Joo-hyung defeated Scottie Scheffler and Sam Burns 2 and 1 and Adam Scott teamed up with Hideki Matsuyama to knock off Cameron Young and Collin Morikawa 3 and 2.
USA got victories as Spieth and Thomas won against Im and Corey Conners 4 and 3 and Finau and Max Homa beating Kim Si-woo and Davis 4 and 3. Spieth and Thomas are the third duo in Presidents Cup history to go undefeated in the first four rounds.
"We're in a good spot," USA captain Davis Love said. "We have a lot of guys hitting it good. They just made more putts than we did.
"We always feel like we're at an advantage in the singles. We've had some great singles days in the past."
Luis Enrique believes Spain's performance in the first half of Saturday's defeat to Switzerland was their worst 45 minutes of his reign.
Spain slumped to a disappointing 2-1 loss in Zaragoza that leaves them trailing Portugal by two points in Nations League Group A2 heading into the last game.
That final group match is on Tuesday as Spain prepare to face the leaders in Braga, with Fernando Santos' side 4-0 winners over the Czech Republic on Saturday.
La Roja did not muster a single shot on target until Jordi Alba's 55th-minute equaliser at La Romareda, and Luis Enrique could not hide his disappointment at the showing.
"Losing is always something that hurts. It has been a pity, but we must value Switzerland, who from the beginning caused us many difficulties," the coach said.
"In the first half, it was the worst of my time as coach. [Then] we have badly defended the corner of their second goal.
"In the second half we improved. We have tried until the end. The key game is Portugal. We will go to Braga to win."
The manner of Saturday's loss clearly perturbed Luis Enrique, understandable given the World Cup starts in less than two months.
Yet, he is refusing to blow it out of proportion, adamant he does not need to re-evaluate his faith in the squad just because of one result.
Asked if the game generated doubts in relation to Qatar 2022, Luis Enrique replied: "No doubts.
"Obviously it's better to go to Qatar on a winning streak, but I have full confidence in the team. I have seen many players in the first half who have been more imprecise than ever, but the opponents are good, they know how they play.
"But everything doesn't always go well, when you don't have a good day, this happens.
"A victory against Portugal would be the perfect way to reach the World Cup. We have drawn three times with them and now we will go there to win."
Portugal only need a draw on Tuesday to seal their place in the Nations League Finals for the second time.
England manager Gareth Southgate is adamant he is the right man to lead the team into the World Cup despite a woeful run of form.
Defeat to Italy on Friday condemned the Three Lions to relegation in the Nations League, extending the winless streak to five matches in the process.
Southgate was jeered by England's travelling supporters at San Siro but, despite being under the most pressure he has been in his six-year stint in charge, believes he remains the best choice to take the team to Qatar.
"Without a doubt. We're playing and have been playing some top-level sides and we will be better for that," he said.
"And the younger players, in particular, that have been in these games will have learned a lot from them.
"In the past we've had runs of friendlies or whatever the matches are and then we've gone into tournaments and that's the first time we've hit high-level opposition and it's hit us in the face quite often.
"Now we know the level, now we know what we've got to improve and we'll be better placed for that by having had the quality of matches that we've had."
Southgate's views were echoed by England captain Harry Kane, who is confident the Three Lions will be back to their best in time for the start of the tournament in November.
"I believe we are going to be judged on how we perform out in Qatar. We're just in one of those moments where it's not quite going our way. We're confident we can turn that around," he stated.
"We have one more game on Monday to try to get some good feelings back. Ultimately, once we get to the World Cup, we will be ready for that first game and be fully focused on that.
"I don't think our confidence has been dented, but you want to win games. We are all experienced enough, with our clubs especially we have been through those moments when things haven't been going so well. It's about bouncing back."
Tyson Fury has warned Anthony Joshua he will "move on" if the contract for a fight in December is not signed by Monday.
A 'Battle of Britain' bout has risen to the top of the agenda following Fury presenting an offer to AJ after it became clear a unification bout against Oleksandr Usyk would not occur this year.
Joshua accepted terms for the bout but official confirmation has not yet arrived, with an apparent delay in the 2012 Olympian putting pen to paper on a deal.
That has led Fury to concede he is not optimistic about the fight taking place and made it clear he is happy to move on to fight someone else.
"They've had the opportunity to agree to this fight for about a month I'd say," he said ringside at Joseph Parker's fight against Joe Joyce in Manchester.
"They've had the contract for over a week, still not signed, still a few more excuses they're gonna come back with.
"We'll know more on Monday I think, the two broadcasters are gonna meet on Monday and then we'll know from there. If it's not done by Monday then I'm moving on.
"I'm not waiting around for some guy who's lost three of his last five fights, he's lucky that I'm giving him a world title shot.
"I'm sick of setting deadlines. They either want this poxy fight or they don't. I was just saying to somebody else before I don't mind inviting these people to my party but they're not gonna come to my party, my banquet, and try and dictate to me.
"They either wanna do it or they don't. And if they wanna do it, sign the contract, and if they don't, do one.
"This is the fight that I've been trying to make since 2017, and I've been unsuccessful every single time. I was optimistic three or four weeks ago that the fight might happen. Today, I'm not very optimistic.
"I'm definitely fighting on December 3, whoever it may be I don't really care."
Novak Djokovic played a vital role in Team Europe opening up a four-point lead in the Laver Cup as he won in singles and doubles upon his return to the ATP Tour after a three-month absence.
Djokovic had not played since taking his grand slam count to 21 with the Wimbledon title in July, but he looked as if he had hardly been away as the Serbian beat Frances Tiafoe and then teamed up with Matteo Berrettini in the doubles.
Tiafoe beat Rafael Nadal at the US Open earlier this month and combined with Jack Sock on Friday to defeat the Spaniard again in what was Roger Federer's last ever match, but the American could not get to grips with Djokovic in Saturday's final singles contest.
Djokovic's 6-1 6-3 win secured two points for Team Europe to put them out in front, and he was involved again in the last of the day's action as the team's advantage doubled to four points.
Berrettini and Djokovic tussled with Sock and Alex de Minaur and ultimately had too much, winning 7-5 6-2 in less than an hour and a half.
Earlier, Taylor Fritz's three-set triumph over Cameron Norrie put Team World briefly back on level terms.
Fritz made a brutal start but ended up being forced to a match tie-break, eventually coming through with a 6-1 4-6 10-8 victory.
That wiped out the two-point lead Berrettini had given Europe in the first match of the day, with the Italian edging Saturday's most gruelling tussle.
He saw off Felix Auger-Aliassime 7-6 (13-11) 4-6 10-7, and despite finding himself on court for over two hours, Berrettini was still sharp enough to emerge victorious alongside Djokovic.
Diogo Dalot insists Portugal's approach in their final Nations League Group A2 game against Spain will not be any different after rising to the top of the table.
A comfortable 4-0 victory over the Czech Republic in Prague, where the Manchester United full-back scored a brace, came alongside a surprising 2-1 defeat for Spain against Switzerland.
Those results set up a decisive match between Portugal and Spain on Tuesday in Braga, where the hosts know avoiding defeat will secure a spot in next year's Finals tournament.
Despite now finding themselves in pole position, Dalot says the outlook ahead of the game has not changed.
"Our thinking will be the same, whether Spain had won or our result [had been different]. We're going to Braga to win," he said.
"It's going to be a very complicated game and we have to do our [work] to be able to be in the next phase."
Dalot was also pleased with the overall performance from the squad, believing it to be evidence of their strength ahead of the World Cup later this year.
"The most important thing was the good game we played collectively. I think we could still have done a little better after the third goal, taking it easy and more ball," he added.
"We had some scares there that could have given them a goal, but we kept our cool. Defensively we were also very good and I think the result speaks for itself. We played a great game, and we deserved this win.
"This is the result of the work we have been doing. We have a lot of quality. This is a strong [moment] for us. The World Cup is coming, it's a competition where we always want to be."
South Africa head coach Jacques Nienaber accepts his team have plenty of room for improvement with just under a year to go until their Rugby World Cup defence gets under way.
The Springboks could only beat Argentina 38-21 in the final match of the Rugby Championship on Saturday, and that meant New Zealand took the trophy.
South Africa required a try-scoring bonus point plus a winning margin of at least 39 points at Kings Park in Durban, but the Pumas would not be rolled over in such a manner.
The daunting title target for the Boks had been set when the All Blacks posted a crushing 40-14 victory against Australia earlier in the day.
Before their 2019 World Cup win, the Boks won a three-match Rugby Championship. The 2020 championship was cancelled due to the pandemic, but the All Blacks have now carried off the title in 2021 and 2022, this time around serving to ease some of the pressure on coach Ian Foster.
It was tight this year, with New Zealand and South Africa both winning four of six games, but the All Blacks managed one more bonus point and a superior points difference.
Nienaber is already looking forward to November away games against Ireland, France, Italy and England, as South Africa look to gather themselves for a big push into next year. The World Cup begins in September 2023 in France.
"We are not there yet, we need to find consistency," Nienaber said. "In that regard, we will get a good idea where we are on the end-of-year tour.
"We play the number one [Ireland] and number two [France] in the world in the first two games of the tour. So it will be a challenging tour for us."
South Africa had not scored 39 points in a match, let alone won by that margin, since a 40-9 defeat of Georgia in July 2021.
They last beat Argentina by such a hefty points margin in 2013, when posting a 73-13 landslide win, but the Pumas are far more competitive nowadays, as wins over Australia and New Zealand in this championship showed.
Nienaber said his players still felt they could pull off the improbable against Argentina when they took to the field.
"We saw it as a realistic target, we took on the task full on," Nienaber said, quoted by Supersport. "We needed to get a 39-point winning margin to win the trophy, and we all bought into it.
"In the end we came up short, but you can never take a win in the Springbok jersey for granted, victory is always special. We are glad we came out on the right side of today's result, even if we didn't get what we needed to win the championship."
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