"I was really surprised that Van der Poel didn't sprint" - Zonneveld questions decision to skip green jersey battle

Thijs Zonneveld says he's baffled by Mathieu van der Poel’s approach to the Tour de France this year, especially after Jasper Philipsen’s crash left a clear opportunity for someone else on Alpecin-Deceuninck to contest the green jersey.

Speaking on the podcast In De Waaier, Zonneveld said Van der Poel’s decision to sit out the intermediate sprints is a missed opportunity. “I was really surprised that Van der Poel didn't sprint in the intermediate sprint, because going green is a realistic option for winning in Paris, with the stages still remaining and Van der Poel's chances of scoring a lot of points.

“Others can't just do that, but Van der Poel has to glean points. That means gleaning points from now until Paris in intermediate sprints and stages,” he said. “A bit like what Peter Sagan did so well, because then you don't have to win five stages or the intermediate sprints.”

Van der Poel had a strong opening to the race, taking a stage win on stage 2 and wearing yellow. But Zonneveld sees the choice to ignore the green jersey as an indication that the team’s priorities are elsewhere.

“I don't understand why you don't just calmly finish sixth in such a quiet stage, in an intermediate sprint where only five riders were contesting the sprint. That's a very important signal about how he feels about going green and how realistic he considers his chances of winning. If Van der Poel had sprinted, he would have finished third, or maybe even second. Then he would have really scored a ton of points.”

Zonneveld believes the team has made a strategic call to focus solely on more stage wins. “I don't think there's room to skip points. So I think the team has already decided that Van der Poel won't take two more weeks off to gather points. The goal is to win stages, because there are still two or three chances for him. And Pogacar will also finish up front in those stages, while he'll also grab a million-billion points in the mountain stages. This way, the Tour is developing very unfavorably for sprinters and punchers.”

In this year’s Tour, there are a limited number of pure sprinters stages. This would have been perfect on paper for someone like Van der Poel, who excels in more difficult, uphill sprints. Remember too, Wout van Aert won the points classification in the 2022 edition of the Tour, and Mads Pedersen won the classification at the Giro d’Italia two months ago.

Tadej Pogacar is already far ahead of Van der Poel in the points classification, and Girmay sees him as the main rival for green. But Zonneveld insists Van der Poel had a real chance to be in the mix. “If Van der Poel had scored 30 points on Saturday, he would now be above Girmay in the standings and about 20 points behind Pogacar. He could definitely have closed that gap, but you have to race for it every day.”

In the end, Zonneveld says Van der Poel may simply not have the energy to chase green and win stages, especially after the effort he has put into this opening week of racing.

“I think he's indicated he can't keep this up for another two weeks. That would cost him stages, and he's not willing to do that. He'd rather win another stage than have a shot at the green jersey. That's a thing of the past, and I find that surprising. After two stage wins and wearing the yellow jersey, I think it would be a real plus if he won the green jersey.”