Pogacar responds to the boos: "They give me even more strength"

Tadej Pogačar continues to expand his legend in the 2026 Tour de France, but his absolute dominance is also starting to generate the first boos from a part of the audience. The Slovenian, who on Tuesday achieved his third stage victory in Le Lioran and took another step towards sealing the general classification, acknowledged after the race that he heard boos from the sidelines, but far from affecting him, he claims they serve as motivation.

The first boos reach Pogačar in the Tour: his dominance begins to divide the fans

“I want to thank all the fans who were on the road today. The atmosphere has been incredible, even though there were some boos. To all those who booed me, I say that they give us even more strength. Thank you, thank you,” he declared right after crossing the finish line.

A dominance that is starting to tire some fans

For years, Pogačar has been one of the most beloved cyclists in the peloton for his offensive style of racing and his approachable character. However, the situation in this Tour seems different.

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The UAE Team Emirates-XRG is controlling the race with almost absolute authority. In the tenth stage, held on Bastille Day, traditionally a highly anticipated day for French fans and conducive to breakaways, the yellow jersey team nullified any escape attempts before preparing the final attack of their leader.

With 15.5 kilometers to go, Pogačar accelerated and no one could follow him. The scene reminded of other exhibitions by the Slovenian, and his lead has now risen to 3:36 over Jonas Vingegaard in the general classification.

It is precisely that superiority that some fans seem to have started to receive with less enthusiasm.

In the post-stage press conference, the first question revolved precisely around those boos.

“It’s clear that I have people who hate me and those who hate me are going to keep hating. It always happens. In cycling, it happens much less than in sports like tennis or football, where the rivalry among fans is much greater,” he explained.

The Tour leader also wanted to downplay the episode by recalling that the overall atmosphere in cycling remains very different from that of other sports.

“99% of the people cheer for all the riders. You see families where one wears a Visma jersey, another a Groupama jersey, and another a UAE jersey. Everyone has their favorite, and that’s nice.”

To explain how he manages these types of situations, Pogačar surprised by citing an athlete outside of cycling: Novak Djokovic. The Slovenian believes that the Serbian tennis player has lived with part of the audience against him for much of his career despite becoming one of the greatest of all time.

“I always think of Novak Djokovic and the incredible mentality he has. I think he has had one of the toughest careers in that sense, receiving many boos and unnecessary hate while being one of the greatest.”

Far from being upset, Pogačar assured that these reactions end up reinforcing both him and the entire UAE Team Emirates-XRG.

“Cycling fans are the best among all sports, and we should be grateful. And to those who boo, I can only say that they give us an extra boost. All they do is add more fuel to the fire.”