'There’s always haters': Tadej Pogacar responds to doping allegations

He's done it! On 21 July 2024, Tadej Pogacar became the first man since Marco Pantani in 1998 to win the Giro - Tour de France double.

The untouchable Slovenian won the closing time trial of this Tour de France, his sixth stage win in La Grande Boucle. He finished 6:17 ahead of Jonas Vingegaard and 9:18 ahead of Remco Evenepoel in the GC.

Pogacar's achievement inevitably raises questions about doping in cycling. The Slovenian is aware of this and has spoken out on the subject.

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"In any sport, in any situation of life, if somebody's winning, there’s always jealousy, there’s always haters," he said at his press conference on Sunday, per Cycling Weekly. "If you don’t have haters, you’re not succeeding."

"There will always be doubts, because cycling was so damaged in the past. Before my time," he added.

Jonas Vingegaard also spoke out on the subject of doping. "To be honest, I fully understand the scepticism and I think we have to be sceptical because of what happened in the past because otherwise it will just happen again, I would say," the Dane said after his TDF win in 2002, according to Cyclingnews.

To justify his comments, Pogacar pointed to the institutions that oversee the use of doping, including the International Cycling Union (UCI). "In cycling, WADA and the UCI have invested a lot of money and time to make this sport clean, and I think this is one of the cleanest sports in the whole world because of what happened so many years ago," Pogacar explained.

According to the TDF winner, it's "not worth it" to take doping. "Taking anything that could risk your health, risk your heart is super stupid, because you can cycle until 35 but then there’s a long way to enjoy life. It would be really stupid to throw this away and risk your life for racing. It’s just a game. It’s fun, you want to win, but it’s not everything."

However, Pogacar's statements will not dispel any doubts about his performances this year, beating the times of Lance Armstrong and Marco Pantani on Pla d'Adet and Plateau de Beille with disconcerting ease.

Whatever happens, the sceptics won't stop Pogacar from aiming for a fourth Tour de France victory in 2025. Will he succeed, or will Jonas Vingegaard return to his throne?

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