Thijs Zonneveld "tired" of Tadej Pogacar's dominance: "The superiority was way too great. I got tired of him"
Cycling
Those who thought Tadej Pogacar was going to attack on Comma di Sormano, 50 kilometers from the finish line can tick off their bingo cards. I personally thought he'd go even sooner, but the Slovenian let us enjoy a brief ray of hope with Remco Evenepoel right on his wheel for a... moment. The rest is history.
As ever, praise of Pogacar's performance came from all directions. Thijs Zonneveld is no exception. In his column for the AD newspaper, he writes that he is a bit done with the dominant world champion. "However beautiful his solos are, however special his season was: the superiority was too great," he states.
Zonneveld wouldn't mind had that World Champion waited to blow up the race a bit later:
"Very, very, very possibly he will wait until the last climb. Or else the sprint with a handful of others. It will still be somewhat exciting. But let's be honest: that chance is just as big as it raining sprinkles on Saturday. It is very likely that Tadej Pogacar will go fifty kilometers before the finish. Or else at eighty. And if he feels like it, he will have flown before the broadcast starts."
Just like in Liège, just like in the Giro d'Italia, just like in the Tour de France and just like at the World Championships: it was a one-man show. "Again. He has given so many of those this year that you sometimes feel like you are watching a repeat of last week or the week before. No matter how bizarrely good Mathieu van der Poel and Remco Evenepoel were at times: there is no doubt about who is the best cyclist in this galaxy."
"From a historical and sporting perspective, Pogacar's cycling year in 2024 will be one to remember forever," Zonneveld was briefly full of praise. That quickly turned into irritation. "Almost everything went well. He didn't get sick, he didn't fall, he wasn't unlucky at decisive moments, he never missed the beat. His basic level was so absurdly and scorchingly high that we didn't even realize whether he was in shape or in top shape. He never got tired. I did. Of him. And I don't think I'm the only one."
Dutch, Belgians supposed to be tough, but yet they constantly cry…
Will he be tired of MVDP if he decides to cross and wins rainbow # 7? Competitive races are fun. A battle to the end is always thrilling. But watching a masterpiece be created is also a beautiful thing. It’s fun to watch a rider ride, attack, race and just go for it. Someone will catch up at some point. Maybe Jonas next year will return to the challenge. Until then it is amazing to watch what Tadej can do on a bike.
Did this Dutch journalist have a similar opinion last year, when Jumbo Visma dominated the Grand Tours - in particular, the Vuelta, when they captured the podium?
And I'm tired of "journalists" expressing scandalous statements to get audience. As Tadej says: "I actually don't see so many people saying 'he shouldn't win so much'. Say that the ones that hate me and the journalists to have something controversial to say"
.... but if Tadej had been Dutch...... as cycling fans we are never happy, we want that attacking riding, the panache but when it happens then we get bored of it. This incredible season of Tadej wins has been fantastic to watch
Agree Tired of him attacking and no one even trying to follow and those who follow would go in the red and finish very far down below their current level.
Don't blame Tadej, blame the others teams and individuals for not taking the game to him
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- Or sprinting, or against wind. I think by now they’ve optimised the tire tech and pressures to largely smooth out rider weight effects. BUT, I’m going to go through past podiums to see what weight distribution trends are to be spotted coz I’m curious now.Mistermaumau03-04-2025
- I also wasn’t too impressed by the final lead out, they’ve got to practice that, Wout had far too long to ride alone but then again it seemed as if the lead-outs had themselves run out of steam too early which is what makes me believe none of them could have won, Powfull looked totally fresh and in the end it was just a case of him being stronger than the others, not much you can do against that, just like you can’t outdo MVDP in the end when he’s in shape.Mistermaumau03-04-2025
- Exactly, a rider (or sprinter in athletics) can’t even tell themselves when it will happen until it does. Obviously if you have an idea that could happen, you should maybe envisage testing your theory with perhaps an small sharp attack well before race-end.Mistermaumau03-04-2025
- Yes but 20 minutes as a domestique isn’t 20 minutes as a leader, and you know as well as anybody that Pog winning is in no way a guarantee. Granted, neither Pog nor Remco nor Jinas nor Primoz or some more winning starts to seem far-fetched but a podium would certainly be targetable if he doesn’t have to worry about Jonas.Mistermaumau03-04-2025
- The final appeal he lost against his old team for « breaking » his contract.Mistermaumau03-04-2025
- How exactly is that a good thing on cobbles or flat? Lower weight is only beneficial on a climbvappaxbipmv03-04-2025
- I said much better, not better. He probably will improve but right now he needs about 20 minutes of free time to win the Tour against Pogacar. And the was offered leadership in Giro and other races but turned it downvappaxbipmv03-04-2025
- If niermann this he can predict cramps, that would be helpful for a lot of people around the world. It was the standard strategy for Benoot and Jorgensen to attack and they should haveabstractengineer03-04-2025
- Wow! People have to understand that being light is absolutely a good thing on cobbles, as bouncing means you have to lift yourself over and over again. Being a lighter cyclist is always a good thing (ceteris paribus), unless you're going downhill.acem8203-04-2025
- What very expensive legal affair?Caralladas03-04-2025