Zonneveld has a controversial take on the final Tour de France stage: 'Pogačar let Van der Poel win'

The 21st stage of the Tour de France was one to remember. Mathieu van der Poel and Tadej Pogačar put on a spectacular show, after which the Dutch rider from Alpecin-Premier Tech just managed to stay ahead of the closing peloto. It was an iconic finish to the Tour, and Thijs Zonneveld is at a loss for words to describe the spectacle.

Pogacar accelerated on the final climb up Montmartre, but Van der Poel surged past him. Together, they rode full throttle to the finish, after which Van der Poel dropped the yellow jersey wearer in the final kilometer. It seemed impossible, but he stayed just ahead of the sprinters. “What a great sport this is! This is the kind of cycling you want to show your kids,” Zonneveld exclaims in his podcast In de Waaier.

He hopes the organisation will stick with the new format, used for the first time last year, forever. “Isn’t this absolutely awesome? To tear through Paris like that, up and down Montmartre, and to have the best riders of their generation, a truly special generation, going all out in the final Tour? Not: ‘Let’s take it easy, no risks…’ No, Mathieu calls out to Tadej: “Of course I’m coming out to play!”

Mads Pedersen and Remco Evenepoel were also in the mix: that quartet broke away on the penultimate lap. “Those four! Man, oh man. We’re blessed to be able to watch cycling in this generation.” Sometimes it’s also deafeningly boring—we’ve talked about that enough. But these guys have a combination of talent, fun, and, let’s face it, a bit of ego. They’re the kind of guys who dare to challenge each other in areas that don’t necessarily suit them.”

The four riders were caught just before the bell, so we were able to start over at Montmartre. Van der Poel and Pogačar once again proved to be the strongest there. It was reminiscent of the many duels these titans have fought, from the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix to the world championships. It was, once again, a special sight.

"The greatest rider of all time and one of the greatest classics riders of all time, who rode together as a pair to the finish line, just like in the Trofeo Baracchi (a team time trial, ed.)," Zonneveld explains. “They were occasionally helped by the motorbike, it has to be said. But you can see that even the best riders in the world and a cooperative peloton are struggling.”

According to the Dutchman, Pogacar may have deliberately helped Van der Poel secure the victory. “If things had gone just a tiny bit differently, either Philipsen, Pedersen, or—for all I care—Max Kanter would have won the stage, were it not for the fact that Pogacar gave it his all to set the pace. He practically provided a lead-out: you can’t call it a gift, because he had to work hard for it. But Pogačar let Evenepoel win, he let Del Toro win, and now he’s letting Van der Poel win, too.”

He then finished it off in phenomenal fashion. “Where Van der Poel finds that last kilometer is a real mystery to me.” The peloton was practically on top of him, and then he goes for it one more time, with a heart rate of 200 and lactate in his little toe. You think: there’s no way he can stay ahead here, but somehow he manages it anyway. If you did that in a movie, you’d think: come on. A bad American Hollywood movie.”

Zonneveld then burst into laughter as he crossed the finish line. “It’s a photo finish, where he’s half a wheel ahead of Philipsen.” Did the Belgian, Van der Poel’s teammate, hold back to let the Dutchman take the win? “Maybe a little. It’s a classy move. For all we know, Kanter could have powered right past him. And Kooij was still in the mix, too—he’s certainly not the slowest.”

Finally, the analyst also had words of praise for the aggressive Pedersen, who finished third in Paris after three grueling and attack-heavy weeks. “To those who thought it wasn’t a well-deserved green jersey—that’s just nonsense, of course. It’s just a points system, isn’t it? These are the rules. I really enjoyed watching him.”