Bernard Hinault: "Tadej Pogacar can win at least six Tours and I see him achieving the Giro-Tour-Vuelta in the same year"

Bernard Hinault is one of the great icons of the Tour de France and as such, French cycling also. As the legendary figure celebrates his 70th birthday, Hinault has sat down with Italian newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport to reflect on his career and the modern peloton.

When it comes to the modern peloton, it's hard to look past the reigning world champion, Tadej Pogacar who, in an all-conquering season, took two Grand Tours, two monuments, the aforementioned world title and many other successes. Like many, Hinault has been left incredibly impressed by the performances of the Slovenian across the 2024 season.

"Pogacar will be able to take all kinds of records. Who will be able to stop him?" Hinault asks rhetorically. “If he doesn’t have any accidents, Pogacar will easily surpass Eddy Merckx and me. His successes speak for themselves. And I’m impressed that he has won three Tours de France at the age of 26 and in every one he has lost he has finished second. I think Pogacar can win at least six Tours. And yes, I see him achieving the Giro-Tour-Vuelta treble in the same year. I think sooner or later he will try.”

In his own career, Hinault stopped a five Tour de France titles, joint with the aforementioned Merckx, Jacques Anquetil and Miguel Indurain. "I was a legend during my own era, as was Merckx, and in general each period of cycling history had reference points - Coppi, Bartali, Anquetil, Bobet before me, and then afterwards Indurain. Each person has their place, in a certain moment," Hinault reflects. "But I don't have any regrets. I stopped racing early, at 32, but I was lucky enough to be able to decide for myself, at a point when my desire to continue had faded away. Not everybody understood it at the time - in fact, I'd say barely anybody. If I had wanted to get the record, I would have continued to race. And that's what I didn't do."