The competition for Pogacar clearly isn’t that high, but damn, he doesn’t seem to have a bad day. Carapaz was on the absolute Limit and Pogacar looked like Zone-2, while towing the GC contenders 
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Exactly, this is what is most likely happening with the big-money sports, while anabolic steroids are definitely a thing, the cover-up and “culture” as some have said before is all about recovery PED in American Football, basketball, and Soccer.
You have someone like Tom Brady, Lebron, or Ronaldo, and let say they have some inflammation in their shoulder, there are hundreds of millions of dollars on the line for everyone from team owners to their league to TV reporters, etc. So whether one takes some HGH or stem cells that are guaranteed to show up in a test but there is a huge driving force to cover it up. We expect superhuman efforts from all athletes and that is what we are going to get.
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Nutrition, accessory workouts, physiotherapy, medical support etc. are obviously major contributors, too. But the amount of apparently evergreen superstars (especially the ones you named, but also Messi, Thiago Silva, Alejandro Valverde, Cancellara, Keninisa Bekele, Jan Frodeno etc) is ever growing.
40 is the new 30.
I’ve always heard the NFL approach described as an intelligence test rather than a drugs test
Same in weightlifting disciplines, bodybuilding and many other sports.
“Tested bodybuilding” is basically a test if your IQ is higher than that of a very smart chicken.
“Untested” basically just says, you can just take everything cattle farming has to offer.
As a Slovenian, I can tell you Pogačar is doped from head to toes. I don’t know about others, but sometimes, some coincidences are a bit too coincidental (e. g. recent team Sky affair with lost documents).
The results will be seen in 5-10 years time.
We’ve seen this before and we will see it again.
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There’s a fourth, related explanation, and I think that professional cycling offers a bit of insight. The men who run the sport are tied into the testing/enforcement regime, and have a lot of say in outcomes. Lance Armstrong was a “protected” rider in the Postal heyday, and there are multiple known examples of buried positive tests and retroactive TUEs, because a doping positive was seen as critically damaging to the sport.
As you point out, the money in cycling is dwarfed by the amount of money in world football. In the US, American professional sports are essentially cartels. There’s approximately zero chance that the owners would allow their assets to be damaged by self-inflicted doping scandals.
Add to that the players unions are extremely strong in the more commercial big name sports–the testing regimes are made to be circumvented.
Yes, what possible advantage could a football team gain by having its players as fresh in the 94th minute as in the first?
Imagine someone like Brady, Messi, whomever receiving a lifetime ban for doping. It absolutely would never happen…ever.
If we didn’t have Pog this year, then the race for the lead (which is the race for 2nd this year), has been great. A rider goes incredibly deep and gets to second, and then the next day they pay and someone else is up to second. Pog takes on attackers each day, but where the attackers then need a few easy days, he’s back defending again the next day.
This would have been an epic week if no Pog.
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There was a bit where an on the limit carapaz was out of the saddle, and a barely breathing Pog was seated behind him and just cruising. At least Froome would start to look like he was hurting.
That was because he rides a bike like a frog rides a skateboard…had nothing to do with how hard he was riding. 
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Cadel was my recent fav for looking like they’re suffering. He’d arrive at the top and be dripping with sweat and looking like he’d given it everything. Pog … Mr Z2.
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Cadel vs The Schlecks was the best Tour of the modern era.
I think you’ll find it’s like a spider monkey humping the top tube! Arms everywhere!
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That is an acceptable description, as well!! 
Anyone interested in the historical context of this discussion would find this incredibly informative (if you haven’t yet come across it):
Seven hours of conversation! I don’t have that much time for Floyd.
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Holy moly that’s long! It will take me a few days to read all that.
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A shame, you’d learn a lot.