Olympic Cyclist Sent Home After Getting Really, Really Wasted

Belgium's Gijs Van Hoecke had an OK showing last week: a 15th-place finish in the multi-discipline omnium, and part of a ninth-place sprint team. But for the vast, vast majority of Olympians, it's not about medals. It's about the entire experience, and that includes drinking enough to kill a small family unit once your athletic obligations are met.

So Van Hoecke hit the Mahiki nightclub in Mayfair, once a favored destination for Princes William and Harry. ( Sample review: "The quintessential high-end yet kitchy Polynesian themed bar. The elaborateness of the decor is only trumped by its tackiness. Drinks are what you expect...strong, fruity, and excessively festive.") And Van Hoecke hit it so hard, he had to be physically dragged out of the place by his teammates, his shirt and pants suspiciously wet, and manhandled into a waiting van.

The photos made the rounds in Van Hoecke's home country, and today Belgian officials sent him home for his "deplorable" actions. Van Hoecke apologized through a Belgian newspaper, saying he was just blowing off steam, but perhaps a little too much steam.

Some more photos of Van Hoecke's big night out: