Jonas Vingegaard, the Tour de France leader and defending champion, said Sunday he was racing clean but welcomed scepticism on the thorny issue of doping in cycling.
The Danish Jumbo-Visma rider is among Tour climbers to have broken speed records on classic ascents in this year's Tour. He was asked on Sunday if he understood public suspicion given cycling's history with doping.
Vingegaard didn't flinch.
"I fully understand and we have to be sceptical because of what happened in the past or it will just happen again," said the former fish factory worker.
"I understand the questions and I welcome them."
"I'm not taking anything (doping products) personally and I'm happy there's scepticism," he said warming to the subject.
"Yes we are going fast and beating records so it's a good thing that fans ask questions about that," he insisted.
"On the other hand there are reasons, the food, the material and the training is all improving all the time," he said.
"But it's always good to at least think about it."
Vingegaard did not mention changes in the way the Tour plans its route, where stages used to drain riders by climbing a series of huge mountains. These days, stages like Sunday's with five climbs are rare, and just one showpiece ascent is not unusual.
Vingegaard said it was in the nature of sport to strive.
"You never find your limit. There's always something you can optimise, so it is a normal thing for athletes to constantly try and improve," said Vingegaard.
Two-time champion and current runner up Tadej Pogacar was asked on his way to the 2020 title if he was doping and replied he was not.
"I come from a good family, and they raised me to be a nice boy," Pogacar said. "I assure you, I'm not taking short cuts in my life."
Pogacar's rival that season was also a Jumbo rider Primoz Roglic.
"There is nothing to hide from my side. You can definitely trust me," Roglic said in his typical deadpan delivery.
But the history of cycling has its share of doping cases. The Tour de France erased American Lance Armstrong from the record books after he admitted doping.
The Tour has also stripped Floyd Landis and Alberto Contador of Tour titles.
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