Tadei Pogachar is expected to continue his domination of the 2024 season on Saturday at Il Lombardia and could win his 25th race of the season with a fourth consecutive victory at the Italian monument.

His dominance at the World Championships and his 100km attack have once again evoked comparisons to Eddy Merckx. But the Slovenian rider's dominance also aroused unfounded suspicions and doubts, just as it has for other riders in the sport's dark ages in the past.

On Friday afternoon, while discussing his phenomenal 2024 season and Saturday's Il Lombardia, two French video crew members posed questions to the leader of UAE Team Emirates, one of whom was Tour de France director Christian Prudhomme. He referred to recent answers.

The French regional newspaper La Dépêche du Midi asked Prudhomme.

Prudhomme allegedly replied: “Given cycling's past and not so distant past, your question is not illegitimate. I have no answer.”

Pogachar did not fully understand the question when Prudhomme's comment was posed to him, but he gave a lengthy reply.

He concluded: “There will always be people who are jealous and suspicious, and there is nothing I can do about it.

His thoughts were more elaborate.

“The sport of cycling, in the past, people did everything they could with their bodies to get better and risk their lives, not knowing what it would do to their health.

“Many athletes, even the ones who won the championships, are probably sick now or have other health or mental problems because of what they have done to their bodies over the past 20-30 years.

“In my honest and humble opinion. I think cycling suffered so much during those years. There was no trust and it was up to us cyclists to regain trust. But there is nothing we can do. We just have to race ourselves and hope that people will believe in us.”

“We need winners, and the winners always get the most attention for being the cheaters. Perhaps in a few generations people will forget about the past, about Armstrong and the guys who were doing what they were doing.

“From my personal experience, I think cycling is one of the best sports [...]. There, people want to be healthier, not more unhealthy, just for the sake of performance.

“We now realize that cycling is a really dangerous sport. Like a heart accident, you can't push yourself beyond your limits; if you risk your health for the sake of a 10-year career, it's a waste of life and a fool's errand.

Pogachar offered a broader reflection on another question about doubts about one's control.

“Domination is everywhere. In the business world, in tennis, in golf, in the NBA, in soccer.

[32] “In any other sport, you see domination by teams and individual athletes. And at some point, new talent, hungrier athletes, better teams emerge. A generational shift occurs, and someone else comes along to dominate. That's just the way life is.”

Cycling News will carry Pogachar's comments on Il Lombardia in a separate article.