I know what you're saying. For me, I don't find Jonas arrogant at all. I just think he's a lot more reserved than Pogacar. And frankly more of a tactical rider. Whereas Pogacar attacks all the time, often when it's a bad idea.
In terms of the doping, I think the TT performance in last year's Tour put the spotlight more on Jonas. He's such a light rider and a climber. It's highly unusual for riders like him to be able to generate that kind of power. And he destroyed absolutely everyone by such a wide margin, larger than when Pogacar beat Roglic. But this year for me it's all about his miraculous recovery from his very serious injuries.
Admittedly I am probably jaded. I've been watching cycling a long time so remember the Festina affair and the Armstrong years and all the doping around that time and all the excuses that went with them. How in 1999 everyone was hoping cycling might be clean after the Festina affair, then they saw Armstrong shoot up that first mountain climb and insiders were like "aww crap." Because they knew it was going to be a doping arms race still.
And frankly testing continues to be a joke. Jonas missed a doping test in 2019 because of a "broken doorbell." Which has echoes of Tyler Hamilton hiding behind his couch to avoid getting tested when he wasn't clean.
I know keeping up with the technological side of doping is difficult, but the protocols are still ridiculously lax.
And to be totally clear, as I said in my post about doping, the reason it bums me out is if Jonas is in fact doping, then he is definitely not the only one. Which means you have to look at riders like Wout, Sepp Kuss, Pogacar, Remco, etc...
I agree, and it's refreshing to hear that someone can deduce that he is simply reserved.
He embodies the typical Northern Jutlander: reserved, calm, and collected. He consistently handles criticism and nonsense from other riders with remarkable composure.
For instance, when Evenepoel remarked that he had no "balls", he simply smiled and said, "I think I was smart to conserve energy.
If I had gone with them, I would have lost the tour then and there." Jonas is a better tactician and has superior stamina, particularly in long mountain stages. However, Pogi is the better all-around rider.
I understand your perspective, but in my opinion, one missed control shouldn't be cause for skepticism. He had witnesses who confirmed that the doorbell was not functioning and that he was indeed at home. He has never missed a control before or since. There was a lot of discussion in Denmark, and the national sports news interviewed several people from his town and those involved in his setup. It all seemed legitimate.
Regarding his miraculous recovery, I don't see how doping could have helped with that, unless he used steroids or HGH, which I highly doubt. He was in a hospital with many doctors and nurses, not in some corrupt doctor’s homemade clinic. Even after his hospitalization, steroids and HGH seem like the only substances that could directly affect his rehabilitation, and both are highly doubtful.
The time trial was incredible, and I can see why some folks might be wary, but Pogi also does some astonishing things and seldom gets questioned for it. The same goes for Rog, Evenepoel, Van Aert, etc.
People seem to like to criticize JV for some reason. Considering he has won two Grand Tours and almost took the Vuelta, the respect for him is very low.
I understand being jaded; I was extremely tired of cycling, especially after the 2007 Tour. I have been watching since the early '90s.
When a second Dane was suspended for doping while wearing the Yellow Jersey, I lost interest. In the end, I couldn't stay away and returned in 2012, deciding to give it one more chance. Either I believe them, or I don't watch, just one more time.
However, I don't understand fans who let some riders get the benefit of the doubt while constantly hounding or trash-talking others.
To me, Pogi fans, in particular, are bad about this, as are some neutrals - They also ALWAYS have excuses for Pogi. 2022 Visma had a better team, 2023 Pogi was tired after having injured his wrist, this year it is f***ing nutrition, even though UAE have the better team, and JV was severely injured 6 months ago.