"It's clear that they have an inferiority complex" - Michael Morkov blasts the French for constant doubting of Tadej Pogacar credibility

Tadej Pogacar has taken the sport of cycling to new heights over the last couple of years, rewriting the rulebook on what many people thought possible through his performances. Given the checkered history of cycling when it comes to doping however, there have some notable doubters of the Slovenian.

Marc Madiot, team boss at Groupama - FDJ has been critical in the past. Most recently he told Cyclism'Actu before Paris-Roubaix: "I have respect, but I'm not a fan," in regards to Pogacar.

Some others haven't been quite so tactful however. Jerome Pineau publicly accused Pogacar of doping after the 2024 Giro d'Italia. “Doping has been around since the beginning of time, but these are not the same products they use now,” the Frenchman told RMC, with Jean-René Bernaudeau, team manager at Team TotalEnergies, stating just the other day that Pogacar should reveals his wattage figures as "cycling cannot afford another scandal."

Something that you may or may not have picked up on with those three examples is that they all come from notable Frenchman in the sport. This point certainly isn't lost on Danish national coach and former lead out supremo Michael Morkov.

"Isn't this as typical French cycling as it can be?" asks the experienced Dane on the Cafe Eddy podcast, claiming the French have a tendency to criticise any foreigner who dominates their races. "They are angry at everyone and see ghosts everywhere, and they can't understand why it's not the French riders who win the Tour de France and Paris-Roubaix."

"It's clear that they have an inferiority complex. The biggest races are in France, and they have a huge cycling history, but they have difficulty measuring up to the other nations," concludes Morkov fiercely. "So of course they have an inferiority complex that they have to find an excuse for every now and then."