Armstrong gives Tadej Pogačar the highest praise he can think of: 'Would completely wipe the floor with Lance Armstrong'

The rivalry between Mathieu van der Poel and Tadej Pogačar took on a new dimension in Paris. The two titans fought a fierce battle during the 21st stage of the Tour de France. On the Champs-Élysées, the Dutch rider from Alpecin-Premier Tech came out on top. Lance Armstrong is full of praise for Van der Poel, but has even more praise for the (5-time) winner of the Tour de France.

With a final burst of energy, Van der Poel managed to break away from Pogačar and stay ahead of the sprinters. “What a legend, what a legend,” says Armstrong on the THEMOVE podcast.“Pound-for-pound, he’s the second-best cyclist in the world. It has to be the toughest effort of his career. That Amstel Gold Race was something I’d never seen before, but you could tell at the finish today: this guy was completely spent.”

George Hincapie adds that he saw things he’d never seen before from Van der Poel. “He went head-to-head with Pogačar in a heavyweight boxing match. And on top of that, he still had a 500-meter sprint left in his legs. Pogačar had nothing left at that point; he had to pull himself together. That says a lot about how motivated he was to win here. It’s one of the most exciting finishes ever.”

On Montmartre, Pogačar picked up the pace, and Van der Poel was able to keep up. In fact, he launched his own attack. “He overtook Pogačar there, kind of the same way Wout van Aert did last year,” analyzes Johan Bruyneel. “Van der Poel had no doubt that he could keep up with Pogačar today. That makes sense: Van der Poel was able to conserve his energy, while Pogacar had to go full throttle.”

The Slovenian managed to stay just ahead of the world champion from Glasgow, after which the two of them went head-to-head with the closing peloton. The gap kept narrowing, and Pogacar ultimately had to concede defeat to Van der Poel. But the yellow jersey wearer crossed the finish line with a smile: he won his fifth Tour de France and tied the record.

Armstrong knows enough. “This guy is the absolute best ever. It doesn’t matter how far back you go. He can do anything. You’ve seen it every single day, right up to today. It doesn’t matter if it’s on flat cobblestones, in the mountains, or at any time of year... He wants to race. He’s simply the greatest of all time, the GOAT. This guy would completely wipe the floor with Lance Armstrong,” laughs the American himself.

Bradley Wiggins has also changed his tune. The Brit had always been on the opposing side of the debate, insisting that Eddy Merckx was the greatest of all time. “But as far as I’m concerned, he’s now taken the throne,” says the 2012 Tour winner. This Tour showed us why Pogacar is the greatest of all time. “Tadej is always part of the race’s narrative. Today, Alpe d’Huez, Barcelona, the Tourmalet...”

Stage 19, in particular, was a huge blow. That’s where Pogacar claimed the stage victory on Alpe d’Huez and set a new record: he was a full 1.30 minutes faster than Marco Pantani’s previous best time. “Alpe d’Huez is still something we have to process, because we’re getting used to his insane performances,” says Wiggins. “We’ll still be talking about that in fifty years. I don’t think anyone will ever break that record.”