“Simply stupid”: Pogacar condemns doping offender

Tadej Pogacar admits that he understands doubts about his performance and describes doping as stupidity. The three-time winner of the Tour de France attributes the discussions about the use of banned substances to the past of cycling.

July 22, 2024

From: dpa

"There will always be doubts because cycling has been badly damaged in the past," said the Slovenian. "When someone wins, there are always jealous people, always haters. If there is no hate, you are not successful. I think cycling is one of the cleanest sports in the world." The World Anti-Doping Agency and the world association UCI have invested a lot in the fight against doping.

For Pogacar, doping is out of the question because of the potential consequences. "It's not worth taking something that puts your health at risk," said the 26-year-old. "It's just stupid because you might ride until you're 35. But after that you still have a long way to go. You shouldn't throw that away. It's fun when you win, but it's not everything."

He was the superior rider in this Tour de France. © APA/afp / MARCO BERTORELLO

During the Tour, which ended on Sunday, Pogacar set several records for climbs that date back to the heyday of doping in cycling between 1990 and 2006. Critical voices were raised that this could not have been achieved with better equipment, better nutrition and better training.

Pogacar has a clean slate

Although Pogacar's UAE team has a number of officials with a history of doping - most notably team boss Mauro Gianetti - the Slovenian has never been suspected of doing so. There are also no reports of him missing any tests. With his success in the Tour on Sunday and overall victory in the Giro d'Italia in May, he was the first rider to achieve the double since the Italian Marco Pantani in 1998, who was proven to have doped throughout his career.

Schlagwörter: cycling racing bike Tour de France Tadej pogacar doping