"If you want to waste an hour of your time..." - Thijs Zonneveld rips into Pogacar documentary as analyst claims production lacked new information
Cycling
Dutch cycling analyst Thijs Zonneveld didn't mince his words when it came to rating the recently released Tadej Pogacar documentary - claiming that the production brought no new facts or revelations as he handed it a zero-stars rating.
The Eurosport and HBO Max production, the premiere episode of the 'Anatomy of a GOAT' series about sport's greatest athletes, centered around the Slovenian and the scientific analysis of what makes him so dominant and successful.
It featured a host of interviews, including Pogacar himself, Eddy Merckx, Alberto Contador and a bunch of analysts and fitness experts such as Whoop staff, cycling performance analysts and biographers.
The documentary featured sections exploring Pogacar's power output, training insights, his recovery and health data as well as a look back at some of his defining performances.
However, analyst Zonneveld has criticised the documentary citing a lack of new revelations - claiming that much of the material was already of public knowledge.
"It was terrible, I talked about it earlier in the podcast and made a promise to myself to watch it, but I deeply regretted it," he said on In de Waaier.
Zonneveld claims he 'fell asleep' during documentary
"I think I made it about halfway through, and somewhere in the last half hour I fell asleep. It was really terrible. There is nothing new in it, because it is merely a repetition of public facts that have been known for a long time."
Zonneveld took issue with elements of the program citing clear facts already reported about Pogacar, and also claiming that Pogacar himself doesn't add much by the way of content. He criticised the influence of Whoop on the documentary as he summarised his rating of the production.
"That he can pedal a lot of watts, that his heart rate is very low, and that he has a lot of talent... Pogacar says something about it for three minutes and that's about it.
"Otherwise, it's a sort of advertisement for Whoop. If you want to waste an hour of your time, I recommend it, but if you want to do something fun, I definitely advise against it. Zero stars."
Contador offered major praise for Pogacar in the documentary, labelling him the greatest rider of all time.
Contador praises Pogacar
“I believe Tadej Pogacar is the greatest cyclist of all time," Contador said. "Tadej wants to win everything. I think he aims to secure as many Monuments, Tour de France titles, and world championship titles as possible, in addition to winning as many individual stages as he can at the Tour de France.”
'El Pistolero', a legend in modern cycling and current presenter at Eurosport, believes the Slovenian has already reached the great of all time status.
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“If you really think about it, it’s very difficult to find an athlete from any other sport throughout history who has been so vastly superior to their rivals. I was reflecting on this and thought of Usain Bolt.
"But, of course, Tadej Pogacar displays this level of dominance in every single race he enters, from February through October.”
Gavin QuinnCycling Journalist
Gavin Quinn is a cycling journalist and ultra-distance cyclist with a BA in Journalism from Dublin City University. Formerly the Press & Communications Officer for Cycling Ireland, Gavin has worked inside the national team at the World Championships and has reported for the Irish Mirror, Mirror UK, and The42.
His expertise is backed by elite-level access, having interviewed stars like Sam Bennett and Ben Healy, as well as immense personal endurance. In 2025, he completed a 12,000km solo cycle from Ireland to Vietnam, following a 4,600km tour across Europe. From the cobbles of Paris-Roubaix to the gradients of the Tourmalet, Gavin’s writing focuses on the "romance and brutality" of the sport. Having visited 50+ countries, he brings a global, cultural perspective to his coverage of the pro peloton for CyclingUpToDate.
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- Mathieu and Wout!!! You must start in CX this winter! (hope you reading comments here...) ;-)averagecyclist12-11-2026
- Who made you site boss?Lozza12-11-2026
- This shows so well you’ve never ventured out to a cycling event and checked out spectators.Jumpyjohn12-11-2026
- I preferred the one about amateur riders and passing (perhaps to explain why he can’t ride at 220 which would probably be more effective to return to shape).Jumpyjohn12-11-2026
- Not just ManU, far worse in some minority sports ventures.Jumpyjohn12-11-2026
- From your writing it sounds like you’ve been sharing your views with people here for quite a while, quite presumouptuous for a new profile.Jumpyjohn12-11-2026
- Which is amazing given his weight and size, though, unlike in boxing and some rare instances we haven’t a clue what his fighting weight was. Anybody know why these “public” figures floated around are considered as being accurate?Jumpyjohn12-11-2026
- That’s a first point, everyone can have an off year or just stagnate before a new upward cycle. What would have been more interesting is including Skjelmose’s performance into the discussion, things have also been expected from him after several performances in the past but he hasn’t really progressed either, his TdF was basically what you would have expected but he’s 26 and been kind of stuck at this level for at least 2-3 years. Maybe he’s a late developer or maybe he needs something to change but as manager I’d be just as demanding and worried about both. Perhaps the recruitment concept was to have enough talent so at least one every year would be in shape and they’ve just been unlucky. Don’t want to rub it in but you could even say Mads lost a notch, so is it the riders or is it more to do with the team?Jumpyjohn12-11-2026
- Bingo...I was also going to say that young pretty women are obsessed Pogi fan girls... who are chasing him. All glossy "____" (blank) about Tadej. PS: You can all fill in the "blank" yourselves, whatever you prefer. The definition of glossy is: It looks unusually shiny, glazed over, watery, or vacant/unfocused.PogiSloFans12-11-2026
- Are you able to discuss ANYTHING without making a reference back to your Special 1? It’s almost as if you’re paid by his marketing team to improve his ranking in search results.Jumpyjohn12-11-2026
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