With around a quarter of the race distance covered, the breakaway already boasted a lead of more than three minutes but they were able to continue to pull away as the rest of the chasing\u00a0pack were left static.<\/p>\n
It appeared that race organisers, including director Scott Sunderland, drew alongside the portion of the peloton that had already made it through to ask them to maintain a relatively slow pace so as not to exploit the situation.<\/p>\n
Speaking on TNT Sports as he watched the action unfold, pundit Adam Blythe had sympathy for UAE.<\/p>\n
“This is ridiculous. Mikkel Bjerg is here, UAE have made it through, Pogacar is in the front,\u201d he said. \u201dVan der Poel, as we know, is the only favourite behind and the regulators, commissaires drove through those barriers as they came down, splitting the peloton.<\/p>\n
“If I was UAE now and they are not stopping the breakaway – remember they are not slowing down the break, so that gap’s growing. The train is going through, so the gap is about a minute at the minute between these two groups in the peloton split.\u00a0<\/p>\n
![\"picture\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-fb2400df-67e4-4d50-9064-4744bb455bb7-85-2560-1440.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
Izagirre claims GP Miguel Indurain triumph for third time<\/p>\n
Video credit: TNT Sports<\/p>\n
\u201dIf I was UAE, I’d be kicking off massively. ‘We’ve made it through because we’re in this position, now you’re making us slow down because we’re the only ones doing the work on the front to wait for people behind.'”<\/p>\n
Alongside Blythe on commentary duty, Matt Stephens added that he felt Pogacar would prefer to have won the race in normal circumstances, rather than because of a stroke of luck in his favour.<\/p>\n
He said: \u201dI don’t think Tadej Pogacar would want to win this bike race because of a zebra [level] crossing coming down… It’s not UAE’s fault.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201dWe\u2019ve never seen it happen. It’s unprecedented, as far as I’m aware, in a big race like this.\u201d<\/p>\n
The breakaway had pulled more than five minutes clear by the time the peloton had grouped back together.<\/p>\n
Pogacar is aiming to retain the title after winning the event in 2025, the second time in his career he had won the race, with Van der Poel searching for a record fourth win.<\/p>\n