Hinault was however not always successful in his endeavours. During the 1980 Tour de France, he sought to remove the rule which excluded riders outside the time limit on each stage. He urged the riders to protest and ride slowly, but some did not follow his example, forcing Hinault to chase them down before he eventually left the race. His enigmatic exit from the 1980 Tour created tensions with the press that would persist during the rest of his active career. By 1982, debates about his personality started to appear more and more in the media. Particular interest was given to an alleged lack of "panache" during his Tour wins and his behaviour towards fans and officials, whom he treated with open disgust. Fotheringham suggests that Hinault only regained popularity with the French public after his knee problems and his Tour defeat in 1984. Fellow racer Robert Millar suggested that in 1986 in particular, Hinault attempted to win over the French public by riding aggressively.