Greg LeMond on Pogačar, Seixas and living with cancer: 'He is the next Hinault'

According to the interview, relayed by Orange Sports, LeMond did not hold back when asked about Pogačar. The American's verdict on the Slovenian was short: "He is Merckx." He also had praise for 20-year-old Frenchman Seixas, who had another impressive season.

At Strade Bianche, where Pogačar took a record fourth title, Seixas finished second after dropping Isaac del Toro on the final climb into Siena. Afterwards he admitted that "Tadej was clearly stronger." But LeMond thinks the gap between the two will not last.

LeMond spoke out against Lance Armstrong for years, so his comments carry weight. They are also unlikely to settle the debate. Plenty of fans will point out that a rider's age has never been proof of anything.

For France, the stakes are huge: many see Seixas as the man who can end the country's long wait for a home Tour de France winner.

The interview also brought the two old rivals back to 1986. That year LeMond became the first rider from outside Europe to win the Tour, beating Hinault, who had publicly promised to help him.

Hinault's attacks during the race led to a rift between the two riders and inside the La Vie Claire team. They were teammates in 1985 and 1986, and Hinault now looks back on that period at a distance.

LeMond still has no hard feelings. "It's strange because for me, it's my best Tour physically. I won against a very good Hinault. We were like brothers. We fought, it's true, but that changes nothing at all today, because Hinault was an exceptional leader," he said. "In the end, we fought, but it makes a nice story for cycling!"

Forty years on, the two men are still learning new things about the day they crossed the line hand in hand at Alpe d'Huez. Hinault said it happened naturally. LeMond remembered it differently: "At the foot, Tapie told me that I was going to win the Tour and that Bernard had to win the stage for his last participation, even if it was symbolic." He then added: "Yes, but I agreed with that too."

LeMond, a three-time Tour winner, also spoke openly about his health. "I'm 65 and I had leukemia four years ago," he said, adding that at one point he believed he was going to die.

He links the illness to the lead still in his blood from the hunting accident he suffered in 1987, which he called toxic.

The outlook is now good. LeMond, who works in carbon fibre manufacturing in the United States, said he has six months of medication left, and that his doctor has told him everything will be fine after that.