"There is no race anymore" - Zonneveld on Pogacar's Suisse dominance and Tour de France worries

Is the fight for the overall victory at the Tour de Suisse over after just one day? Whilst Tadej Pogacar was the main favourite to win the Swiss opener into Sondrio, the way in which he did it caught most - and even himself - by surprise. But to the race's spectacle and tension, that is not good, according to Thijs Zonneveld.

"He gains seconds on a small climb, he pushes a bit, and that's it. No one makes a desperate attempt anymore, or a team starts riding at the front," Zonneveld said on the In de Waaier podcast. "No, he rides to the finish at training pace. He was still as fresh as a daisy."

The Dutch pundit did not enjoy seeing a day which was decided by an attack that was not on the writing board at UAE Team Emirates - XRG's bus. Whilst the World Champion had the legs to make the difference, it did not seem at any moment like he was going at his limit.

"On the flats and on the descents, he just sits there looking around a bit. This was far from an all-out effort. In Romandie, he still tried to hold back. He sort of tried that today too, but it wasn't enough to let anyone catch up".

The gap grew, despite the terrain allowing for there to be some sort of chase and despite the Slovenian's apparent ease. That has a simple explanation for Zonneveld: The lack of a chase behind after he rode away.

"It happens so easily... Bagioli (third on the day, ed.) could also ride away from the group by a minute and a half. Everyone gives up when Pogacar rides away by a minute. It is the consequence of such dominance".

"Carapaz tries to make a comeback a bit. He keeps it under two minutes for a while, but you only see the difference at the end." He refers to the final climb, in which Pogacar accelerated, and the difference between his legs and those of Carapaz behind were very noticeable.

"On that last little climb, Pogacar does 3:15 and Carapaz 3:51. He had to push hard there because it was 12%. That is when you see how much better he is. He didn't keep going at all on the flat. If he had wanted to, he could have put four minutes between himself and Carapaz."

The fight for the podium has definitely been lit up, and several GC men such as Lenny Martínez, Antonio Tiberi and Aleksandr Vlasov were amongst the many who have lost full contact with the GC fight. Mathieu van der Poel was also absent from the action as a result of the explosive stage.

When it comes to the yellow jersey anymore, Zonneveld believes the race didn't even last a few hours. "There is no race anymore. It is so incredibly demotivating," he puts it bluntly.

"And especially when there are also three from UAE on your wheel (McNulty, Wellens and Narváez, ed.). If you keep riding at full speed, those are numbers 2, 3, and 4 at the finish line. You really get knocked out."

With the Tour de France ahead, Pogacar's form seems to be on point and so does that of his UAE teammates. If his rivals do not take a step in their evolution towards this summer, it could be another one-man show at the Grand Boucle's mountains.

"It is worrying if you want to see an entertaining Tour. It will be different, but the chance of Pogacar winning is, of course, huge. A lot of crazy things happen in the Tour, but Pogacar has so much in reserve that he can handle a lot of crazy things."