Tour dominates
“Simply stupid”: Pogacar rejects doping out of hand
Tadej Pogacar was well prepared. After all, the question of credibility is traditionally one of the annoying 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.
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 26-year-old.
Gianetti maintains his innocence
The fact is: so far there is no evidence of doping in 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.
"I know who I am"
Critics say that this could not have been achieved with better equipment, better nutrition and better training. Pogacar 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, they are all the consequence of his success.
The competition seems to have come to terms with the fact that a talent of the century has emerged in their generation. "To say he's a step above everyone else is an understatement," said Romain Bardet. 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, Merckx achieved this at the age of 26 years and one month.
Two as night and day
The man from Komenda is expected to equal the Belgian's five overall victories. Merckx appeared shy, withdrawn and hardly showed any emotion.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, carries his lightness almost penetratingly to the outside. He is hugely popular in the peloton.
Pogacar's biggest goal now is the rainbow jersey. "I would love to win the world championship," he said. He has 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.
"Never so tired"
Also for Jonas Vingegaard, who does not have the Tour of Spain in his program. "I don't think I've ever been this tired after a grand tour. I'm exhausted," said the second-placed Dane. The 2022 and 2023 Tour winner had been set back by injuries during his preparation and was therefore unable to really challenge Pogacar.
"Apart from the last few days, I look back with satisfaction!"
The tour was disappointing for Felix Gall, captain of Decathlon-A2GR. After last year's strong performance with a triumph on the queen stage and 8th place overall, the 26-year-old from East Tyrol was unable to keep up this year and finished the tour in 14th place. The goal had been higher, said Gall on Monday, but a lot of things worked well. "Apart from the last few days, I can look back with satisfaction. Especially in the last few days, I noticed that something was going on in my body and that I wasn't at 100 percent performance."
The sports newspaper L'Équipe wrote of an "invisible" performance by his French team. "The results are not what we had hoped for, but it's not catastrophic, we're not going to commit suicide over it. We have to look and be inspired by what is being done elsewhere in terms of hyper-professionalization," team boss Vincent Lavenu told the sports newspaper, adding regarding Gall: "He is a youngster who has talent, there are many things to analyse."
Gall was therefore also looking positively to the future. "I am convinced that the experience of the last few days will make me stronger," he emphasized. "Especially the way I dealt with it mentally. There were some great memories with my team-mates."
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