Hinault repeats his harsh words to the French public who suspect Tadej Pogačar

Bernard Hinault rarely holds back when it comes to the French. In an interview with RMC Sport, the five-time Tour de France winner is no different. Just as he did a year ago, he has strong words for the French public in response to questions about Tadej Pogačar.

Cast your mind back to late April 2025, when TotalEnergies team boss Jean-René Bernaudeau linked doping and Pogačar. "Let him give guarantees. Some have done that," the Frenchman said at the time.

"We live with suspicion — we had the Festina affair. I don't think cycling can afford to get into another scandal," Bernaudeau continued. Hinault reacted sharply then too.

Bernaudeau is of course not the only Frenchman who struggles with all-powerful cyclists. The French cycling hero said cynically: "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."

In 2026 too, Hinault knows that doubts about Pogačar persist in France. And his anger about it has barely diminished compared to a year ago. "If Pogačar were French, we would have found it perfectly normal," he repeats his argument from 2025.

But Hinault adds a contemporary comparison: "And that is precisely the worst of it — and what stings me. Nobody asks these questions about Léon Marchand. He is breaking all records and lives and trains in the United States, but he is French, so we find that perfectly normal."

Marchand is a French swimmer who, at 23, is perhaps even more dominant in the pool than Pogačar is on the bike. Yet the Slovenian, partly because of cycling's doping history, faces regular doping questions whenever he competes in the Tour de France.

"These constant suspicions make me so angry," said a visibly furious Hinault — who nonetheless understands where the remarks come from. "Yes, Pogačar works with a manager who has done stupid things. But when you do stupid things, you go to prison."

Hinault is referring here to Mauro Gianetti, the Swiss team boss of UAE Team Emirates, who as a rider and team manager was linked to doping. "But that is no reason to condemn him for the rest of his life. He has served his time."