Bernard Hinault has accused French critics of applying double standards to Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), arguing in a Ravito video interview (from Le Télégramme newspaper) published this week that suspicion around the Slovenian's performances would vanish if he held a French passport.
The five-time Tour de France winner drew a direct comparison with French swimmer Léon Marchand, who has rewritten Olympic and world records. "We ask don't those questions about Léon Marchand," Hinault said. "He breaks every record! And he just happens to be in the United States. 'Oh no, it's normal, he's French.' That's what drives me mad! Always hearing this suspicion…"
Hinault's comments arrived during a Tour de Romandie campaign in which Pogačar has been dominant. The world champion won stage 1 on April 29 after attacking with 39km to go on the climb to Ovronnaz, then outsprinted his breakaway companions in Martigny. A day later he won stage 2 from Rue to Vucherens in a reduced group sprint, extending his overall lead to 17 seconds. Those results capped a spring in which Pogačar had already won Strade Bianche, Milan-San Remo, the Tour of Flanders and Liège-Bastogne-Liège, with a second place at Paris-Roubaix behind Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike).
The run of results has reignited a familiar cycle of public suspicion in French media, though the available material contains no new allegation, no investigation and no anti-doping finding. Hinault's frustration is directed at the climate of doubt rather than any specific claim.
He also defended Pogačar's manager Mauro Gianetti, whose 1998 collapse during the Tour de Romandie, linked in subsequent reporting to an injection of the artificial blood substitute perfluorocarbon, continues to shadow UAE Team Emirates-XRG. "He's with a manager who made mistakes at one point," Hinault said. "But when you make mistakes, you go to prison. That doesn't mean you should be condemned for the rest of your life. He has paid."
Gianetti spent 12 days in hospital after the 1998 incident. Swiss physicians suspected a perfluorocarbon injection, and Dr. Gérald Grémion said at the time that Gianetti "almost died." A 2025 Escape Collective investigation reported that Radio France had revisited the episode, and that repeated attempts had been made to remove a "Doping incident" section from Gianetti's Wikipedia pages.
Hinault's defence of Pogačar is consistent. In April 2025, he told Eurosport: "Why is it always the French who cast doubt? That's strange, isn't it? It's never the Spanish, Italian or Belgian teams. We're complainers, I think, and because we don't win, the others must be cheating." He has also compared Pogačar favorably to Eddy Merckx and to his own racing style.
Asked whether Pogačar could be stopped at the Tour de France, Hinault was brief: "Pogačar has a team that is so strong. Unless there's a crash, maybe…"
Cover image credit: Zac Williams/SWpix.com
