Armstrong and Wiggins point to Seixas and French media as the reason for Pogačar booing: 'Uncharted territory for him'

Lance Armstrong and Bradley Wiggins are convinced that the booing directed at Tadej Pogacar has intensified due to conscious and unconscious influences from France. The two spoke on THE MOVE about Paul Seixas’s emergence as France’s new hope, as well as the influence of the French media on its own audience.

Seixas came up in conversation thanks to a listener’s question, and that initially led to high praise for the 19-year-old climber. “We’re actually entering the safest part of the race for him now. He can just stay in position and do what he does best on the climbs. The stages so far have been the biggest challenge for him in terms of positioning.”

"I'm not worried about him," said Wiggins, who made a brief comment about the rider in fifth place in the general classification. “He’s entering uncharted territory for him, now that we’ve been on the road for almost two weeks. He’s never raced this long, but I don’t see any problems. I think he’s done well and is right where he needs to be, even with the challenges he faced leading up to the Tour.”

Of course, that was about the crash in the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, but even more so about the months-long debate over whether or not Seixas should ride in the Tour de France with Decathlon CMA CGM. “He has a strong spirit. There was a lot of debate about whether he should even start, as France’s great hope. Bernard Hinault said it was a mistake, but everyone around him said, ‘Let’s do it,’ according to Armstrong.”

So much for the compliments for Seixas, because according to Armstrong, the presence of this very young top talent also has a downside. “The increased booing directed at Tadej Pogačar is undoubtedly linked to Seixas’s presence. If he hadn’t been there, Pogačar wouldn’t have been booed so much.”

"Because the French public doesn't necessarily want Jonas Vingegaard to win the Tour de France?" Wiggins asked with a laugh. The Brit added a critical note: "The media in France do influence the public. I saw a two-page article in L’Equipe that raised the question of whether Pogačar’s dominance is killing cycling. That narrative is now taking root in the minds of the French.”

"They never write that Lionel Messi is ruining football," said Wiggins. Incidentally, Armstrong made another attempt not to single out France as the sole source of the booing directed at Pogacar. "It’s not just French people lining the roadside. They could be Danes, Spaniards, or Germans. They come from all over the world."