Bruyneel convinced of agreement between van der Poel and Pogacar: "It was clear Visma didn’t agree"

“UAE and Pogacar obviously wanted Mathieu to take the jersey,” Bruyneel begins. Laurens Ten Dam already questioned that tactic, as does the Belgian. "We didn't see much of the peloton, but I think Visma intensified the pace to keep Pogacar in yellow. That's a strategy, but I'm not sure... It doesn't matter, especially with Tadej."

Was there perhaps an agreement between Van der Poel and Alpecin-Deceuninck on the one hand and Pogacar and UAE on the other? “I think that's how it went,” Bruyneel believes. “We know that Pogacar and Van der Poel get along well. I don't know if they are friends, but they like each other. Personally, I think there was an agreement between them.”

“It would also be ideal for Pogacar to give away the jersey,” the Belgian continues. “The stages on Thursday and Friday are difficult to control, so they think: let's give away that jersey. Van der Poel was the perfect candidate for that. Now, it doesn't matter because of that one-second margin, but you want to give it to a team that is going to control the race.”

Bruyneel believes that the very small margin doesn't significantly alter the dynamics. “Now I don't know. The thing that was clear in any case was that Visma disagreed with it. You could see that from Matteo Jorgenson's attack, for example. In my opinion, that wasn't to get away but to ensure that van der Poel wouldn't be in the breakaway. He knew very well that they wouldn't let him ride,” said the Belgian.

Wiggins agrees. “Probably yes. Jorgenson attacked on the final climb, after which Pogacar overtook him. Egos played a role there. We didn't understand why Visma suddenly accelerated, but they must have known that the gap with van der Poel had gotten smaller,” said the former Tour winner.

“Is it part of a strategy? Who knows?” said Bruyneel. “It could be: let's make him angry so that he wants to show that he is the best and can make mistakes. When you see his statements, saying, 'I don't know what they wanted to do...' That tells me that there was definitely an agreement between van der Poel and Pogacar.”

On Friday, it is time for the stage to Mûr-de-Bretagne. The stage seems tailor-made for Pogacar, although it should also suit a fit Van der Poel. The Dutchman already won there in 2021, but of course, had to go all out on Thursday to take the yellow jersey. If Pogacar wins, the world champion will also take back the yellow jersey.