Tadej Pogacar counters the doping questions with a clear opinion. However, this will not stop the criticism.
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- With his superior victory at the Tour de France, Tadej Pogacar's doubters are also on the increase.
- The Slovenian claims to have nothing to do with doping and justifies this.
Tadej Pogacar was well prepared. After all, the question of credibility is traditionally one of the tiresome duties that a Tour de France winner has to deal with. So the three-time champion set off - much more determined than in the past. "It's not worth taking something that puts your health at risk. It's just stupid," said Pogacar.
No evidence of doping
Now cleverness is not necessarily a factor when it comes to doping. Lance Armstrong thought he was extremely clever for years and then collapsed under the weight of the evidence. The former seven-time Tour winner leads Pogacar when it comes to the doubters. "I understand the people. There will always be questions, because they don't forget the Armstrong era," said the 25-year-old.
The fact is: so far there has been no evidence of doping at Pogacar himself, even though a man of ill repute like Mauro Gianetti is in charge of his UAE team. Gianetti was once in charge of the scandalous Saunier-Duval team, but always maintained his innocence.
And yet questions are the logical consequence of Pogacar's performances, with which he pulverizes the best times in the mountains from the time of unrestrained doping in the peloton. And Pogacar is now the first rider after Marco Pantani, who was proven to have doped during his career, to win the Giro d'Italia and the Tour in one year.
Envy through success
Of course, comparisons are always a tricky thing. The direction of the wind and the previous load alone can make a significant difference. Nevertheless, there is criticism that this cannot be achieved with better equipment, better nutrition and better training. Pogacar, who has the charm of a rascal, doesn't care. "I don't care," said the Slovenian. "I know who I am and I know that there will always be doubts."
In fact, Pogacar turns the tables. This envy, these doubts, are all the consequence of his success. The competition seems to have come to terms with the fact that, much to their chagrin, a talent of the century has simply spread through their generation.
"To say he's a step above everyone else is an understatement," said Romain Bardet. The Frenchman was once considered the hope of the Grande Nation. On Sunday he competed in his last Tour, second place in 2016 was his best result.
Showman Pogacar
The superiority and, above all, the insatiability - Pogacar won six of 21 Tour stages this year - inevitably lead to Eddy Merckx. The cannibal, the greatest in cycling - until Pogacar came along. At the age of 25 years and ten months, Pogacar is a three-time Tour winner, while Merckx only achieved this at the age of 26 years and one month. It is probably only a matter of time before the man from Komenda equals the Belgian's five overall victories.
Pogacar himself does not like the comparisons. And Bernard Hinault, France's five-time Tour winner, also sees little sense in it. "We can't do that. He will go down in history as one of the greatest," said the 69-year-old about Pogacar.
Merckx seemed shy, withdrawn and hardly showed any emotion. At times you got the impression that he was bored all day. Pogacar is the other extreme. He likes the show, the jokes, he carries his lightness almost penetratingly to the outside. He is hugely popular in the peloton.
World Championship title in focus
There are some of Merckx's marks that even Pogacar won't be able to match. The 51 victories in the five so-called monuments of cycling are almost unimaginable in this day and age of extreme specialization.
Pogacar prefers to concentrate on winning each of these important races once, which would be an enormous achievement in itself. He is still missing Milan-Sanremo and Paris-Roubaix, but has already ticked off the Tour of Flanders, Liège-Bastogne-Liège and the Tour of Lombardy.
Pogacar's biggest goal now is the rainbow jersey. "I would love to win the world championship," he said. He would have the chance to do so in Zurich in September. The challenging course should suit him. The Vuelta, the third major national tour, should also be his goal. But not this year, that would be too much even for him.