"As long as Pogacar is here, I think he'll struggle" - Cycling legend doubts young sensation can beat UAE's dominant leader
Cycling
Cycling legend Bernard Hinault fell back in love with cycling with the rise of Tadej Pogacar as the sport's major spectacle. The UAE leader's dominance of the sport has seen him shatter records while young riders try to emerge from the shadows and take the thrown.
One such sensation is Paul Seixas, who finished fourth place at the 2026 Tour de France at the age of 19. The Decathlon CMA CGM rider has competed with Pogacar in monument races such as Liege-Bastogne-Liege, but has still came behind the all-conquering Slovenian.
For French legend Hinault, who has won 28 Tour de France stages and five yellow jerseys, sees Pogacar as this era's great champion as he also singled out the rise of women's cycling in recent seasons.
"The ways of racing, the training methods, and even the athletes' abilities have changed. For a while, I didn't like cycling very much because there was no spectacle. Since Pogačar arrived, there's been a lot of spectacle," Hinault said in an interview with Gazzetta dello Sport.
Hinault has high praise for Pogacar
"Then there are young female cyclists, we mustn't forget them, they are excellent competitors and we saw that even at the last World Championships in Canada."
Pogacar equalled Hinault in terms of Tour victories and drew ever closer to his 28 stage wins over the summer in what was his most comprehensive overall victory yet. Hinault thinks that comparisons are near impossible to make given the differences between Pogacar's era and his 1970's and 80's peak.
"That's impossible to know, because we've never managed to bring together all the great champions at the same time. So you can't make a comparison; they're not the same eras, but we're champions of a particular period."
Pogacar's presence can stop Seixas from dominating cycling
When it comes to contenders to Pogacar's metaphoric throne, Hinault sees the potential for 20-year-old Seixas to "explode" onto the scene and someday win the Tour de France.
However, he doesn't think Seixas will be able to assert dominance over the rest of the field quite like Pogacar has while the Slovenian is still competing at the highest level.
"I don't think we have a champion with extraordinary ability who stands out from the rest. Perhaps with Paul Seixas we have someone who could explode and win the Tour de France , but as long as Pogacar is here, I think he'll struggle."
Gavin QuinnCycling Journalist
Gavin Quinn is a cycling journalist and ultra-distance cyclist with a BA in Journalism from Dublin City University. Formerly the Press & Communications Officer for Cycling Ireland, Gavin has worked inside the national team at the World Championships and has reported for the Irish Mirror, Mirror UK, and The42.
His expertise is backed by elite-level access, having interviewed stars like Sam Bennett and Ben Healy, as well as immense personal endurance. In 2025, he completed a 12,000km solo cycle from Ireland to Vietnam, following a 4,600km tour across Europe. From the cobbles of Paris-Roubaix to the gradients of the Tourmalet, Gavin’s writing focuses on the "romance and brutality" of the sport. Having visited 50+ countries, he brings a global, cultural perspective to his coverage of the pro peloton for CyclingUpToDate.
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- It would have been Pog 4 TdFs and 1 Giro, and Jonas 3 TdFs, 1 Giro and 1 Vuelta. A rough equivalence, I know, but there would have been much talk of Jonas being as good as Pog in grand tours.Hills3306-10-2026
- Yes, Slovenian Cycling said how devastated they were that Tadej could not take part, as it actually was meant to be a celebration for him. And that was a very low-budget, make-shift appearance. It's not like they hired an open-topped car.Hills3306-10-2026
- TdF GCs: Pog 5, Jonas 2, so no par in your scenario.Lozza06-10-2026
- So in the phot above Remco has clearly won, but Ciccone is saying the actual finish line marking on the ground is not shown. Only that red line? I don't follow the technicalities of why the actual finish line is not seen in the picture?Cyclingsbestfan06-10-2026
- What a d**k! If Pogi hadn’t shown up can you imagine how disappointed the Slovenian fans would have been after the already massive disappointment of his not being able to race?!Lozza06-10-2026
- In the case of the EC, Ciccone was the only other real contender from the top 15 in the WC, and for me his loss to Remco in Quebec showed he lacked the mentality to finish it off. But luck is part of the game, and it's favouring Remco right now. Re others benefiting from Pogi being out of the picture, imagine if Pog had crashed out of the Tour instead. If Jonas had then won, his grand tour record would have been on a par with Pog's. If Remco had beaten Jonas, the sports world would have gone crazy. So much depends on luck. Perhaps a better measure would be the strength of the competition beaten, but nobody seems to be in the mood for that.Hills3306-10-2026
- OK, can I say something? We would not be having these conversations if Pogi was in all the races... the WC and EC. He would have won both of them by a big margin and the only comments would be: "OMG, how boring it was. Pogi is "killing" cycling." ... Capish?PogiSloFans06-10-2026
- That was a close finish!awp06-10-2026
- I’d like to see the actual photo finish with the black (not white) line which they use to determine the winner. Ciccone’s photo sure does make it look questionable, but it doesn’t show the following… Which, from what I understand, it is the ‘9 o’clock’ of the wheel, crossing the black line first, which is used to determine the winner.anonymouscyclist05-10-2026
- I think Pogačar is going to have a really hard time becoming Belgian road champion. I mean, nothing seems impossible with the guy, but still. Kidding aside, this is honestly an incredible set of achievements. It's not the usual set of cycling achievements in terms of specific races, but seriously, all the championships he can, in road and TT?! And he's how young? That's really remarkable. Congratulations, Remco Evenepoel!RidesHills05-10-2026
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