On the Vandaag Inside, a football analyst Jack van Gelder has launched accusations of doping at the Tour de France for Tadej Pogacar specifically. The Dutch commentator was asked about the ongoing race and his response was of complete skepticism over the current performance of the yellow jersey.
Asked if he believes these performances, he reponded: "Of course not. They keep finding new things. It can't be that they keep riding faster and performing better. That's just not possible. There are limits to the human body. At a certain point, it's no longer made to do the things that we would like to be able to do in principle. It has to be faster, higher and better and at a certain point you're limited."
He continues: "Pogacar apparently doesn't have that limitation: he rides up four minutes faster than anyone in history has ever done". Pogacar rode up Plateau de Beille 3:44 minutes faster than Marco Pantani in 1998; but van Gelder's accusation is literally based on a wrong fact, since the Slovenian only climbed 1:08 minutes faster than rival Jonas Vingegaard. Van Gelder believes that eventually his victory will be removed, as has happened in the early 2000's with plenty riders. "It might be possible with body-own substances or whatever. But things happen... in a few years you'll hear who actually won."
His words brought the attention of the cycling world and Dutch journalist Thijs Zonneveld promptly responded: "Ah, Jack van Gelder is now also a medical specialist who knows exactly the limits of the human body. Maybe next time he can explain how it is possible that footballers run twice as many kilometres as in the 1970s. Or why they sprint so much faster than ten years ago. It's not about what you believe, it's not a religion. You have to prove, substantiate and investigate before you shout these kinds of things."
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