Pro cycling has a pretty rough history of doping, so it’s not surprising when riders dominate, that’s the first thought. Tadej Pogačar, and in fact many of his UAE Team Emirates équipiers, have been doing this for a while. Pogi’s incredible run of wins — and by an incredible margin — have raised eyebrows over the years. Even the other day when he posted his Strava numbers — a rarity with many pros these days — fans were all like…whoa. So it’s not surprising — especially given some of the folks associated with the team — scrutiny follows.
Writing in Wielerrevue, former Conti rider, now journalist and DS Thijs Zonneveld spoke about doping rumours which pop up now and again. “The evidence is zero, but the skepticism is completely justified,” he said.
Zonneveld said that skepticism with regards to UAE doesn’t exactly come out of nowhere. The team’s leadership includes some dudes who were previously connected to some big-time doping-era controversies, notably UAE manager Mauro Gianetti. Given cycling’s history, he said, it is understandable that people question things.
During the 1998 Tour de Romandie, Mauro Gianetti abandoned a stage and later fell unconscious. He then spent 10 days in intensive care as doctors initially searched for the cause of his life-threatening condition. Two physicians suspected the use of a blood oxygen–enhancing substance and alerted authorities, but Gianetti later pursued legal action that halted the public release of the investigation. Plus, during his time with the former Saunier Duval team, there were a few other doping incidents, involving riders like Riccardo Riccò and Juan José Cobo.
But, he also said that just because you go faster doesn’t mean you’re cheating. Simply put there is no concrete evidence implicating the team. “Performance alone cannot serve as a verdict,” he writes.
So how does he explain UAE’s sustained edge? Zonneveld points first to cash. Backed by some pretty deep pockets, the team has been able to recruit and retain top-tier talent. In a market where every WorldTour squad pursues emerging stars, UAE’s budget often proves decisive.
Zonneveld adds that today’s anti-doping framework — particularly the biological passport system — makes organized, team-wide programs far harder to conceal. Individual manipulation may still be possible, he suggests, but a coordinated operation improving an entire roster would be extremely difficult to hide.
The Dutchman is far from the first person to talk about riders like Pogi and doping. Tour de France boss Christian Prudhomme was asked if he thought riders like the current world champion might be on gear.
“Given the recent history of cycling, the question is not illegitimate.”
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He went on to compare the Slovenian to riders like Eddy Merckx or Bernard Hinault. “We are seeing champions who are present from the beginning to the end of the season,” he said. “With the desire to win everything. This makes him resemble Merckx and also Hinault. For years, I’ve heard Bernard say that riders need to rediscover the joy of racing. And that’s exactly what Pogačar is doing.”
As you can imagine, Pogačar has been asked many times about doping. In cycling, it’s usually been guilty before proven innocent, given its history. “Cycling is a victim of its past, but it would be stupid to risk your health for 10 years of a career,” Pogi, said. “There will always be jealousies and suspicions; so I can’t do anything about it. These stories of domination exist everywhere, in business as in sport. It lasts a few years until a new talent arrives. If you go and put your health at risk for 10 years of your career, it’s like throwing away your life: I don’t want to risk getting sick.”
There have not been any notable doping incidents for years — usually it’s lower-level riders. There has been nothing like the Lance Armstrong or Festina affair, or scandals like Operación Puerto. If anyone gets popped, it’s usually been riders on Conti teams (or masters doing Gran Fondos…)
If there ever were a high-level incident, it would most likely devastate the sport, given how we are told over and over that cycling is clean.