Tadej Pogačar had a helluva year, to say the least. 2025 saw him take 25 victories, including a Giro-Tour double, a world championship title, and wins in several one-day races. And some of those races he won in style–particularly his road worlds win, where he broke clear and bridged to the break with 100km to go, and would ultimately solo for the last 50 km.
Bernard Hinault, winner of five Tours de France, is a fan of the Slovenian’s racing style.
“I would have liked to race against Tadej Pogačar, but also against Eddy Merckx or Jacques Anquetil,” Hinault said in L’Équipe.
Given cycling’s long history with doping, extraordinary performances often raise eyebrows.
Before going on to win a fourth Il Lombardia, Pogačar was asked to comment on recent remarks by Tour de France head Christian Prudhomme regarding doping suspicions. “Given the recent history of cycling, the question [of doping] is not illegitimate,” Prudhomme said. The Frenchman did point out that there is, however, rigorous testing.
“Cycling is a victim of its past, but it would be stupid to risk your health for 10 years of a career. There will always be jealousies and suspicions; so I can’t do anything about it. These stories of domination exist everywhere, in business as in sport. It lasts a few years until a new talent arrives. If you go and put your health at risk for 10 years of your career, it’s like throwing away your life: I don’t want to risk getting sick,” the Team UAE Emirates rider said.
Hinault said such accusations are negative. “Then why don’t we ask these questions to French top athletes, who win everything in other sports like Pogačar doe? In other countries, there aren’t any doubts about him,” he said.
The 70-year-old did say that in his place, he would make all his physiological data public.
“That would calm everyone down,” he said.
Recently, world TT and double Olympic champion Remco Evenepoel joked that he would also love to know Pogi’s numbers.
After seeing an Instagram post by Velon showing Pogačar’s average wattage over the last hour and a half, he was confused. “That couldn’t be right, because I had the same wattage and was three minutes behind,” he said. “So I messaged him, jokingly, to know what he really pedalled. Tadej didn’t tell me, but it was a sarcastic question. We send each other polite messages every now and then. He’s not my best…
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