Jerome Pineau was a good professional cyclist. During his career he didn't win much, but he can boast a stage victory at the Giro d'Italia in the 2010 season (in Novi Ligure, in the photo) when he was riding for Patrick Lefevere's Quick-Step team. Today he is 46 years old and is a sports director who knows the world of sport well and continues to be involved in it. His name has been circulating through news agencies around the world in recent hours after the former professional cyclist (from 1999 to 2015) harshly criticized a sacred monster of sport: Rafael Nadal. "Nadal is not a good role model for young athletes," boom! A statement released on the "Les Grandes Gueules du Sport" program on RMC Sport harshly criticized the 22-time Grand Slam champion, accusing him of going too far in his recovery from injuries. "In terms of resilience and hard work, along with talent, he is clearly an example - Pineau explained - But not when it comes to listening to your body and pushing through pain, creating other problems to cure an issue that has already been present for a long time". Without failing to strike him with a sentence that leaves no doubt: "If he had been a cyclist, he would have been banned for doping". It should be noted that during his sporting career Nadal has never tested positive in any anti-doping test, but it is equally true that there has been no shortage of controversy regarding the management of his body, particularly regarding the use of painkillers and the use of banned substances but legally assumed as he was exempted for chronic problems. "Even though I am a professional athlete competing at the highest levels, if I have a problem I stop to get treatment and only return to compete when I am fully recovered" Pineau concluded.