After an incredible Milan-San Remo, a former professional cyclist has caused  controversy after questioning the level of performance on Saturday.

In a long post on Instagram, Erwann Mentheour argued that cycling’s past should stop fans from accepting extraordinary performances without a bit of scrutiny.

“In cycling, admiration should never erase critical thinking,” he posted, adding that the more extreme a performance looks, the more it should invite questions, not insults or wild theories, but simple, necessary doubt.

Watching Tadej Pogačar race, win, repeat, and dominate, Mentheour said he struggles to accept the narrative being presented. The world champion did have a, well, unbelievable race, that is clear. The Team UAE Emirates rider crashed at the worst possible time, just before the Cipressa.

To win La Primavera in the first place was already a seemingly impossible task for Pogi. The climbs aren’t long or hard enough and getting to the line solo seemed improbable. The plan this year was to attack on the CIpressa, as opposed to the Poggio like last year. It’s longer, and slightly steeper. The problem was there was a headwind–not ideal for a solo attack on a climb.

After the crash, he was 30 seconds behind. Then, not only did he catch back on as the Cipressa began–no small feat when the best teams in the world are riding tempo. Then, he made it to the front on American Brandon McNulty’s wheel. And despite the crash, the team stuck to the plan–he attacked, and only Tom Pidcock and Mathieu van der Poel could hang on.

The Frenchman went on to describe a rider who rarely seems to drop off, who moves through seasons with remarkable consistency, and who appears capable of performing at the highest level “everywhere, all the time.” For him, that level of dominance goes far beyond anything he experienced during his own career, even at the highest level of the sport. He’s not the first to question some of these incredible performances, either. But there has been no direct evidence or proof of doping by any of the top riders, only suspicion from observers. And most of Pogi’s peers believe that he may very well be one of the greatest riders of all time.

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He pointed to cycling’s heavily tainted history, arguing the sport has too many scars to accept dominance at face value. In his words, cycling has “lied, cheated, hidden things, destroyed reputations, bodies, and entire generations of riders.” Because of that, he says, questioning whether such overwhelming superiority is plausible is not scandalous, it’s the bare minimum.

In 1999, Menthéour wrote a book in which he discussed his doping history, including those who enabled his drug use. Among the substances he admitted using were amphetamines, cocaine, corticosteroids, erythropoietin (EPO), and heroin.

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He rode for Française des Jeux (now Groupama–FDJ) and was a teammate of Mauro Gianetti, who is now the general manager of UAE Team Emirates. Gianetti also has a bit of a past in the sport, but that’s a story for another time.

But Mentheour was careful not to make direct accusations. Instead, he stressed that he is not claiming anything he cannot prove. But he insists that at this level of domination, doubt is not cynicism — it is “mental hygiene.” A performance, he said, can be extraordinary, but it can also be “too perfect to be taken at face value.”

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He ended with a pointed question: “Do you honestly believe it? At what point did the obvious need for questioning become less acceptable than blind belief in sporting achievement?”
Not everyone agreed with him.

One critic responded that the reaction is exaggerated. They pointed out that Milan–San Remo is a race many riders spend years trying to win. In their view, Pogačar had been close for five years, finishing second, third, or fourth, and finally took the victory. “He has won it once, not five times,” they wrote. “Stop constantly being suspicious. When Paul Seixas has half his palmarès, no one in France will be crying scandal.”

With Pogi’s win, he has now taken four out of five Monuments. The last one that still eludes him is Paris-Roubaix. It’s hardly a perfect race for him, despite him finishing second last year. Still, it’s something he wants to win. As far as Grand Tours, he still hasn’t won the Vuelta A España , although he hasn’t done it since his breakout year in 2019, where he finished third. Former pro and current commentator said that it wouldn’t be hard for the world champ to win the Vuelta–he even joked, “He could win it in his sleep.”

There are no plans for Pogačar to race the Vuelta this year–although that could change. There are even rumours that he may go for a true Triple Crown and race–and try and win–all three Grand Tours in 2027.