Even with four Tour de France wins, every time Tadej Pogačar disappears up a mountain and the field shrinks in his rear view, the questions follow. After yet another marvellous solo run, Pogačar stamped his authority on the 2026 Tour de France and it saw social media flooded with more doping accusations. Fortunately, this time, the Slovenian had two-time Olympic medalist Tom Dumoulin on his side.

The former professional cyclist and a winner of three individual stages on Tour de France, Dumoulin defended the 27-year-old cyclist.  

“I think we are simply looking at a super talent,” Dumoulin said on De Avondetappe. “At the same time, I completely understand that people ask questions, especially given cycling’s past. I understand why those questions come up. Of course, the cycling world has partly brought that on itself in the past.”

“But I absolutely do not want to go down the road of insinuations here. First and foremost, I am watching a cyclist I enjoy enormously. As I was trying to explain earlier with those images of the descents, he is simply a fantastically good rider. I hope everything is completely fair, and for now, that is also what we should assume.”

That has unfortunately been a large part of Pogačar’s career. The now 27-year-old is widely considered one of the best cyclists ever to step onto a bike. That is largely thanks to the fact that, despite his age, he has already won a catalogue of honours. It’s a list that includes four Tour de France titles, the 2024 Giro d’Italia, the Tour of Flanders three times, and a myriad of other events.

Tadej Pogačar is one of the few junior riders to replicate his success at the professional level. Less than a year after his debut, he made the news. He won three stages, along with the general, mountains, and young rider classifications, on the Tour de France. In doing so, Pogačar became the first cyclist since Eddy Merckx to achieve this feat.

And the doping accusations have flooded social media alongside his wins largely because he’s a part of Team UAE Team Emirates – XRG. The cycling team’s staff members have been allegedly linked to doping in the past, including manager Mauro Gianetti. Not just that, given the Olympic bronze medalist’s incredible winning streak, combined with the success of other members of the team, fans have asked questions.

While the debate raged away from the race, Tadej Pogačar continued doing what he has all week: winning and extending his advantage. Stage seven only strengthened his grip on the yellow jersey as the Slovenian tightened his hold on the Tour de France.

Tadej Pogačar retains lead after Tour de France stage eight 

Combining for the last five Tour de France wins, Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard were the favorites to lift the overall general classification yet again. So far, eight stages into the 2026 edition and the two are indeed leading the way. Much like the last two seasons, Pogačar sits atop the general classification table with Vingegaard close behind.

That is despite the 27-year-old losing stage seven to Tim Merlier. The Belgian cyclist judged his race perfectly, crossing the finishing line well ahead of Norway’s Soren Waerenskjold and Eritrea’s Biniam Girmay. Meanwhile, after a masterclass of a run on stage six, Pogačar had little to worry about, yet he kept his pace. He finished ahead of Vingegaard, keeping his 2:42 lead intact at the top of the general classification.

That trend continued into stage 8 as Merlier won another close-fought race. This time he crossed the line in a photo finish with Girmay, and it was another marvellous showcase from the Belgian. Because with 400m to go, he was at least ten riders behind the leader. Then he turned up the gears and produced a moment of magic, flying past everyone to win his first back-to-back.

“Just like every day, a lot of water and keep cooling the body down,” Pogacar said, according to Arkansas Online. “The body gets tired in the heat. Definitely we need to be careful and keep cooling down, take care of nutrition, hydration.”

Tom Dumoulin’s defence may not silence every critic, but Pogačar’s focus remains fixed on the road ahead. For now, the yellow jersey stays with the Slovenian as the scrutiny follows him through France. However, with over a dozen stages left in the iconic race across France, only time will tell who ends up with the title.