"We are not all called Tadej Pogacar" - Thijs Zonneveld understands Mathieu van der Poel's choice to end season before Il Lombardia
Cycling
This weekend, we're set for a mouth-watering showdown between Tadej Pogacar, Remco Evenepoel and more at the season's final monument... Il Lombardia. Notably absent from the fight though, will be Mathieu van der Poel, who looks to have ended his campaign following his recent Gravel World Championships victory.
Having looked so good just a week or so ago though, could it have been possible for the Alpecin-Deceuninck superstar to push forward for Il Lombardia before ending his season? In his podcast In het Wiel, Dutch ex-pro turned expert analyst Thijs Zonneveld gives his thoughts on the debate.
"With the weight Van der Poel is giving now, you would think, pull on until the Il Lombardia," Zonneveld, who also competed alongside his Dutch compatriot at the recent Gravel World Championships, begins his assessment. "But I admit: that's very much thinking from the sidelines. We are now two weeks after his big goal, the World Championship, and somewhere the decompression also comes and you collapse. We are not all called Tadej Pogacar."
Zonneveld also believes that Il Lombardia might be a step too far for Van der Poel anyway given its renown as the climbers' monument. "He competed once and came 10th," the Dutchman recalls. "But he was beaten by a rider like George Bennett by six minutes. So I can well understand why he is not at the start here."
"Riders like Van Aert and Van der Poel have more chance in Liège-Bastogne-Liège than in Il Lombardia, where you just encounter 13-kilometre climbs," the analyst concludes. "And especially now that Pogacar is competing, Van der Poel's choice is completely understandable."
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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Mathieu van der Poel has for me the most beautiful style of attack from the whole peloton. 😍 When he is attacking he is pushing monster watts, but he make it look easy like he is flying. And what a beautiful photo it is. 📷: gravelmania_cc Instagram
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