Zonneveld thinks Van der Poel will go for green jersey in the Tour thanks to Van Aert: "That really challenges Mathieu"

“The ASO has rolled out the red carpet for punchers, especially for Van der Poel,” Zonneveld told Sporza, looking ahead to what’s coming. “They couldn’t have made the first ten days more interesting for him than they are now. And honestly, it’s almost to the point of being ridiculous. Zoom in and Mathieu could win five of the first ten stages. Last year, those days weren’t there, and he was just riding around without purpose. Now, they’ve completely changed it, and it’s a playground for him.”

Those first ten stages also include a time trial. In that discipline, MVDP already showed impressive things at the Dauphiné. “You can see that Mathieu has structured his season very differently. In previous years, the Tour was kind of a must from his team. He had to, but he didn’t always want to participate himself. Now it’s different, and that’s why he’s also worked on his time trial. He could take yellow in Caen or keep it. The reason he rode such a good time trial at the Dauphiné is because of this Tour’s perfect route.”

It remains to be seen whether Van der Poel will target the green jersey in France, but Zonneveld thinks he will. “I think that’s in the back of his mind. Especially if he rides like he did in the Dauphiné.” However, the team also has Jasper Philipsen, a former winner of the points classification. “But he won’t always be there. And if you miss two sprints, you miss out on a huge number of points. So Alpecin-Deceuninck has a double chance, and I think they see it that way themselves.”

“You can say beforehand that you want to win green, but that’s one of the hardest ways to start the Tour,” Zonneveld continues. “You only win green if you also win stages. So I think stage wins and yellow are the first goals. Then green can become an additional goal. It will depend on how things stand after about five days.”

In the Dauphiné, Van der Poel was also mixing it up in the intermediate sprints, but Zonneveld isn’t sure if that will be the case again now. “I wonder if the team is already thinking about that. Those first days will be total chaos. It’s like a ten-day Dunkirk stage race with climbs and narrow roads. I hope not, but you know that after ten days some riders will have already dropped out.”

The Dutch journalist describes the situation as something “unseen.” “The way ASO has designed it now… I can’t think of any recent grand tour that started like this. You can also see it in the team selections. Visma | Lease a Bike isn’t replacing Christophe Laporte with a climber, but with Edoardo Affini, a rider suited for these types of stages. Many teams are focusing heavily on this. UAE isn’t, because they assume Pogacar will just solve it himself,” says Zonneveld.

So it remains to be seen, but if Van der Poel makes the green jersey a goal and wins stages, it will come naturally according to Zonneveld. “And then he really is the biggest favorite. Van der Poel is part of a generation with extremely good riders, and they always need challenges. Mathieu seeks those out, like with mountain biking. What he has seen is that he has surpassed Wout van Aert in cyclocross and the classics. His palmarès is much bigger, but in Grand Tours, it’s the other way around. Van Aert is much better there, and that bothers or challenges Van der Poel. A very good Tour and adding the green jersey would certainly mean something.”