Thijs Zonneveld furious at Tour de France organisation after Alpe d'Huez stage: 'Scandalous'

Friday turned out to be an unforgettable day in the Tour de France, as winner Tadej Pogacar broke the climbing record on Alpe d'Huez. The “Dutch Mountain” provided an unprecedented spectacle, but the crowds also led to a lot of bad news. Thijs Zonneveld addressed the organisers in no uncertain terms, as he had many complaints against ASO.

"I've never seen so many people," the Dutchman remarked in *In De Waaier*, describing the unprecedented crowds. "I've been to Alpe d'Huez quite often, both as a journalist and as a fan to watch the race. I was there in 2003 and 2004—it was crowded then, too—but if you took a detour, you could just make it to the top and ride a bit. Then, in the last kilometer, you could easily find a spot and watch.”

By 2026, that was no longer the case at all. “Now it was truly absurd how many people were already there. We saw footage from the night and days before. The bus driver had already been up here for a few days; he said it was like a huge carnival.” The footage from the previous evening(s) did indeed show that the atmosphere was already in full swing.

Because of all that commotion, it remained to be seen whether everything would go smoothly when the race passed through. “There were a few fences in a couple of turns, and some ropes as well,” Zonneveld said, analyzing the safety measures. Far too few, the Dutchman concluded. “When you see what’s there between the barriers at Turn 7 and the fences 3.7 kilometers before the finish line… I think it’s scandalous.”

"I just don't get it... the ASO thinks the footage is fantastic—that's what they're doing it for. So that people can get really close and say, 'Look, cycling is the people's sport.' But giving riders just 30 centimeters of asphalt to race on, and having the guys at the top say they were afraid flags would get caught in their wheels… I find that truly absurd,” the journalist grumbled.

For example, we saw Remco Evenepoel get stuck after accelerating. “What’s that all about?” Einer Rubio was in even worse shape. “Just look at what happened to Rubio. He’s just some guy who fell on the asphalt, and the UAE car had to slam on the brakes.” The Colombian crashed hard into the rear window and had to withdraw, ending up with 20 stitches.

According to Zonneveld, the blame for that lay entirely with the organisers. “That’s simply because the ASO refuses to do anything about crowd control. Because it’s ‘cool’… I really don’t think it’s cool at all. I want to watch sports, not idiots who want to run alongside the riders and people who stand in front of them for as long as possible. Why do you do that?!”

The Dutchman really couldn’t get behind the idea of people crowding the course. “Even if there’s 30 centimeters of space, there are still people who want to run along just to get on TV. Is it really that important to be on TV? You’re still part of it even if you’re standing on the sidelines. The people who stood behind the barriers at Turn 7 still had a really great day, didn’t they? You don’t have to stand right in the middle of the road, do you?”

And so Zonneveld suggested some solutions. One: “Ask everyone downstairs if they’d be willing to pay 5 euros. With that money, you can put up fences, hire security, and set up big screens.” And two: “I think running alongside the cyclists should be a punishable offense, because you’re putting them in danger. After all, you wouldn’t stand next to Taylor Swift on stage, or next to Messi when he’s about to take a free kick, would you?”