Pogacar says he understands scepticism about Tour performances

SAINT GERVAIS, France : Slovenian Tadej Pogacar echoed rival Jonas Vingegaard in saying he understood scepticism about outstanding performances on the Tour de France in a sport that has been marred by doping scandals in the past.

"I understand, I always get this question every year on the Tour," the 2020 and 2021 Tour winner told a news conference on Monday when asked if he understood why his performances and that of defending champion Vingegaard had come under scrutiny.

On Sunday, Dane Vingegaard, who leads Pogacar by 10 seconds after two weeks of racing, said he thought scepticism was a good thing for the sport.

"We are riding fast, I must say that every stage we go full gas and it's hard but I understand people asking questions because of what happened in the past," Pogacar said.

"Some people don't get over it and I completely understand them."

Asked about Vingegaard's and Pogacar's awe-inspiring displays, Thibaut Pinot, third in the 2014 Tour de France and fifth in this year's Giro, said on Monday: "It's so hard to assess. The bikes go faster, the (improvement) on nutrition in the last 10 years.

"When you look at the bikes from 20 years ago, you wonder how they were doing it."