Bernard Hinault sticks his neck out against criticism of Tadej Pogacar: "As soon as it's a foreigner, you always have to raise doubts"
Cycling
Bernard Hinault is a five-time winner of the Tour de France, ten-time Grand Tour winner, World Champion and much more... All of this has led him to an absolute legendary status within cycling but the fact that he is French further aided his popularity. The former pro rider believes that if Tadej Pogacar were French he would have a lot less doubts and criticism than the ones that are currently being said of him.
"I am disgusted... Why do we always express doubts? Let's stop asking ourselves questions all the time! It's ridiculous... Do we have proof?" Hinault said in a column for Ouest France. The sport has a dark past and so it is reasonable that some fans have doubts over the best riders in the world, specially at the Tour de France where many are at their very best level. After Sunday's Plateau de Beille stage, where Pogacar, Vingegaard and Evenepoel all beat Marco Pantani's record, more skepticism has emerged.
Read also
Most of it because Pogacar took three and a half minutes out of the Italian's previous record, and has raced the climb in just under 40 minutes, averaging almost 7W/Kg; numbers that a decade ago were barely reachable for a climb of half the length. Every year that passes the climbing level is higher in the peloton and that is very visible at the Tour. The likes of Pogacar and Vingegaard are reaching climbing levels never before seen in the sport, part of what is making it a legendary rivalry.
Hinault has been in similarly dominant position decades back, but he defends the Slovenian who despite being incredibly popular, still has his fair share of skeptics over social media who doubt the legitimacy of the UAE Team Emirates rider - specially in a week where an investigation from Escape Collective has brought forward the possibility that carbon monoxide rebreathing may be used by World Tour teams to improve their performance in altitude camps.
"If I were in his place and I had these performances, would there be suspicion? No. As soon as it's a foreigner, you always have to raise doubts," Hinault hits back. "You have to put all the assets on your side to win, and Pogacar is doing what it takes to win"
Read also

Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
claps 9visitors 8
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- You are interested in Pogi for one reason only, you feel like you are somehow related because you share some vague geographical identity. Other than that you have very little interest in cycling as all your posts show, if it can’t be connected to Pogi you have nothing to post. That said, recent activity here shows we are attracting quite a crowd from his region.Jumpyjohn15-11-2026
- From knowing past cycling stars with shops I can only say, think it through. Not only is it mundane after a while but it really doesn’t take you out of the limelight, in the end you’ll be trying to stay away from the place yourself whilst all your fans keep coming for you.Jumpyjohn15-11-2026
- Careful investment? I think he can live very comfortably with zero investments, what does he need more? The world would do well if more people set a target for how much they need or would make them “happy” and then stop worrying about perpetually having to make more.Jumpyjohn15-11-2026
- Yes, Roglic could theoretically have beaten Sepp. Jonas must have had complete confidence that he could come back and win the Vuelta another year. Visma had not allowed Roglic to ride the Tour that year, so his future did not look so bright, despite his narrow Giro win..Hills3315-11-2026
- So far, a good series about riders before my time, even if the text feels AI generated like so much on this site. About the rider, he seems like one of many who are active fan favorites but don’t survive in the stories of cycling, a few decades later - I didn’t really know anything about him and this was a good read, thank you!RidesHills15-11-2026
- A calm, honest documentary, a bit of hagiography but mostly not too much. When he talks about a coffee shop, it aligns with several things in his world - he might want calm, but he does (more than a little bit) have someone near him (his fiancee) who makes sure that things happen the way he expects. Many atheletes have retired only to find out just how much others were taking care of their lives for them. If they work out (I'm old, things happen), I am sure it will take a renegotiation, which is a good thing. I truly enjoyed watching it, seeing him, seeing her, seeing the whole system built around him.RidesHills15-11-2026
- You do? My mother grew up around Bleiburg (Pliberk), across the border in Austria . My grandparents lived close to the train station in Bleiburg, and I spent a lot of the 70s and 80s there. The "Jugo" train of my youth went to Dravograd or Maribor, exotic places (behind the wall) at the time. What a moment that was, the 10 days war of '91 - times sure have changed.RidesHills15-11-2026
- I hope he rides a bitmij15-11-2026
- Greatest athlete this world has ever produced ! LOL ... you definitely are a comdian ! Cycling is so sprecialized and you think he's the greatest athlete ever ! Still laughing !frieders315-11-2026
- b.s. headline. Jonas wasn't told anything, it is just a pundit telling him what to do. the actual article is not even close to the insinuation of the headline.mij15-11-2026
Loading
Showing that fighting spirit💛🏔️⚔️ #TDF2024 #UAETeamEmirates #WeAreUAE
6 Comments








