"Playground Mathieu is back," says Zonneveld: "It’s a joy to see van der Poel doing this instead of chasing green"

"In today's cycling, you have to consider nutrition, wind tunnel testing, watts per kilo, frontal surface area, shorter cranks, and calculate everything down to the last decimal point. Everything is meticulously planned and thoroughly prepared. But a few guys are riding around in the peloton who just blow everything up in a totally irrational way. They sometimes do something that's impossible, illogical, and inexplicable," Thijs Zonneveld enthused on In De Waaier.

The cycling journalist had previously questioned Van der Poel's decision to reject the green jersey, but: "If Van der Poel does this instead of going for green, then it's a joy to watch. Then, it would have been a matter of gathering points and letting them slip away, but this was much cooler. He's turned everything upside down. This is why we watch sports: crazy things happen, with fantastic riders trying ridiculous things. I'm glad that playground Mathieu is back."

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Zonneveld called it advertising for cycling. Thomas Dekker agreed on Live Slow Ride Fast. 'This just goes to show that cycling is the most beautiful sport in the world. You can make something out of nothing. On paper, it was a boring day for cycling fans. With 25 kilometers to go, you're watching, and so many different emotions are running through you. You think, "This can't be happening,' but it's Van der Poel. So that guy just drove us a little crazy."

At the podcast In Het Wiel, there was also gratitude because what looked like two boring sprint races on Saturday and Sunday turned out to be a spectacular show, especially on Sunday. Roxane Knetemann: "Van der Poel went so fast in those last kilometers; it was unbelievable. I was on the edge of my seat.2 Even Lance Armstrong admitted as much on The Move. "I really thought: come on bro, do it!"