Hinault fires back at French critics over Pogačar doping suspicions: "What would they say if he were French?"

Hinault also thinks of the past when he sees Pogacar in action, but he thinks of the great champions of yesteryear. He thoroughly enjoys his racing style (and that of Mathieu van der Poel). That is why the 70-year-old Frenchman is so upset that his compatriots are skeptical about today's superstars. "Why is it always the French who cast doubt? It's strange, isn't it?" he wonders in the podcast Les Grandes Gueules du Sport. "It's never the Spanish, Italian or Belgian teams. I think we're a bunch of complainers, and because we don't win, the others are cheating."

His compatriot Bernaudeau felt it necessary to take Pogacar to task. "Let him give guarantees. Some have done that," he told earlier this month. "We live with suspicion; we had the Festina affair. I don't think cycling can afford to get into another scandal. Cycling just wants to keep its head above water." Tour boss Christian Prudhomme also stated that the questions surrounding sportsman Pogacar were 'not unreasonable.'

But Hinault disapproves. He sees jealousy in the French, who have been waiting for a French winner in La Grande Boucle since his last Tour victory in 1985. “It's terrible; they have to change their attitude. They are destroying their sport. They should keep their mouths shut for once; we would appreciate that. What would we say if he were French? When Alaphilippe won the classics and the World Championships, did we say there was doubt? No. It breaks my heart to hear that the five-time winner of the Tour de France fumes repeatedly."

He doesn't understand why people can't just enjoy the spectacle because men like Pogacar, Van der Poel, and Remco Evenepoel keep us glued to the TV all day. "I used to sit in front of the television for the last ten minutes or the last ten kilometers because I knew nothing was going to happen," said Hinault. "There is such a battle between these champions that it excites you, and you think, ’Are those idiots going to tear each other apart?' And that's exactly what they do."

Last year, there were also questions about Pogacar's performance, and even then, The Badger came to his defense. "Often, these are just interpretations, which are always negative. I don't get it. Why don't we ask these questions to French top athletes who, like Pogacar, win everything in other sports? In other countries, there are no doubts about him. If I were him, I would make all my statistical data public, calming everyone down."