But what could be done by the media? They can't just go out and say: "And here is Pogacar, clearly on doping, 3 minutes clear of Carapz who is the real leader of this grand tour"... In order to put a reasonable amount of media pressure on Pogacar, some kind of proof is needed first and him being an outlier really isn't proof - it's just cause for suspicion.I cant and thats why i’ve been off from the sports in three-four years. I decided to sit out the Froome years because it was either soul crushing boring or frankly an insult to my intelligence every time i saw him on a bike or listening to the cheerleaders in media who pretends the sports never had any problem or instigating a bit of healthy scepicism.
I actually turned on the first mountain stage this Tour for the first time in some years knowing that Froome is back to his normal Barloworld levels wrapped up in some excuses. What do i see instead? Another best ever candidate presenting himself with seemingly endless abilities he can do on a bike and the media back to being cheerleaders and ”surprised” (ok our commentators talked like they knew what was going on tbf. They just cant go out and say it).
For instance during the Armstrong era, there was quite a lot of skepticism in French and British media if I recall correctly. But he was kind of caught with cortisone in 1999, there were other cyclists who were publicly accusing him of doping, the masseuse, Betty, etc. It was much stronger doping case compared to Pogacar (currently). I mean if there is ever a slightest direct indication he might be doping, I'm sure the media will be all over him.