Zonneveld: ‘If this was Van der Poel at his best, he’ll be destroyed in the Tour of Flanders’

UAE’s plan had been clear in advance. The Emirati team made no secret of it: the race had to be blown apart on the Cipressa. Just as in the previous edition, Pogačar was supposed to be launched on the penultimate climb. That happened in the end, but not at all in the way the team had drawn it up beforehand.

Pogačar crashed on the run-in to the crucial moment, so instead of starting the Cipressa at the front, he first had to pass a large part of the peloton. Even so, the Slovenian still broke the climb record. “He’s simply fifteen seconds faster, including the crash and having to move back up through the bunch,” Zonneveld noted.

The analyst is already worried about future editions if the Slovenian keeps returning. “So it can be even faster. Next time, will he just ride away solo on the Cipressa?” Zonneveld said. Before the race, he had not really expected that scenario. “I thought that if Van der Poel was good, Pogačar would never really be able to drop him.” On that point, the Dutchman now feels he has to revise his view.

At the same time, Zonneveld also felt Pogačar benefited from the fact that his biggest rival was caught up in the same incident. “Because of that crash, the Cipressa effort including the approach suddenly became 14 to 15 minutes instead of 9. That proved fatal for Mathieu van der Poel,” the analyst concluded.

Despite dropping Van der Poel, Pogačar still could not go all the way to the line alone. An exceptionally strong Tom Pidcock stayed with him, although the Brit could not beat the race favourite in the sprint. Zonneveld had no criticism of the Pinarello-Q36.5 leader. “Pidcock didn’t really do anything wrong,” he said. “He simply didn’t have any more speed left at the end. I don’t think there was anything more in it for him. He rode a great race.”

The Dutch analyst admitted he had been hoping for an upset from Pidcock. “For the story, it would have been better if Pidcock had won, so that Pogačar would keep having to come back. Now the bingo card is getting fuller and fuller.” Zonneveld therefore arrived at a painful conclusion for the rest of the spring. “Pogačar has simply become even better.”

“If this was the best version of Van der Poel, then in two weeks’ time he’ll simply be destroyed in the Tour of Flanders. That is an even harder course,” Zonneveld said, already looking ahead to the next Monument. Even with all the attention on Pogačar’s talent, he stressed that none of it comes effortlessly.

“He truly lives for it. He has reconnoitred the Poggio and the Cipressa so many times, and he has already been to Roubaix and Flanders as well. It is real craftsmanship,” the Dutchman added, full of praise for the determination of the five-time Tour de France winner.