Van der Poel praised for breakaway ride: "This is why we watch: for the crazy moments, the absurd moves, the incredible riders who dare to try something ridiculous"

Mathieu van der Poel raised more than a few eyebrows when he attacked at kilometre zero on stage 9 of the 2025 Tour de France, forming a two-man breakaway alongside Alpecin-Deceuninck teammate Jonas Rickaert. After almost pulling off an incredible stage win though, Van der Poel has since been widely praised.

"Modern cycling has one side that's all about weighing food, wind tunnel testing, watts per kilo, frontal surface area, shorter cranks — everything calculated down to the smallest decimal. It’s all meticulously planned and backed by intense preparation," Dutch ex-pro turned expert Thijs Zonneveld says on his podcast In de Waaier. "But then you’ve got a few guys in the peloton who just blow it all up in a completely irrational way. They do things that seem impossible — illogical, unexplainable."

And as you may have guessed already, Van der Poel is seen as one of these riders by Zonneveld, with the Dutchman praising his compatriot for not doing what many expected and chasing the Green Jersey after teammate Jasper Philipsen crashed out.

“If this is what Van der Poel does instead of chasing green, then it’s a joy to watch. Before, it was all about scraping points and dropping back — this was something else entirely. He turned the race on its head," Zonneveld explains. "This is why we watch sport: for the crazy moments, the absurd moves, the incredible riders who dare to try something ridiculous. I’m just glad ‘Playground Mathieu’ is back,” he adds in conclusion. 

As it turned out, Van der Poel went on the attack for selfless reasons too, intent on helping his long-time domestique Rickaert onto the Tour de France podium for the first time in the Belgian's career, a target that was successfully met when Rickaert was awarded the prize of most combative rider for stage 9.