'It's pretty Armstrongian': Dutch journalist likens Pogačar's peloton management to that of Lance Armstrong

Tadej Pogačar claimed his first ever Tour de Romandie title last week, winning four of the five stages in the process. Florian Lipowitz stayed admirably close to the Slovenian throughout the week. Yet it was a different story that caught Dutch journalist Thijs Zonneveld's eye. He spoke about the dynamic between Pogačar and the rest of the peloton on the Dutch language In De Waaier podcast. Specifically how it reminded him of a certain American rider who was also quite prolific in July.

Where in other eras the public tended to side with the underdog, Pogačar has managed to bring fans on to his side — and he does it while quietly delivering the occasional sharp remark to those around him. "He is a likeable guy," Zonneveld said of the Slovenian world champion, "but he sneaks in the odd dig."

The Tour de Romandie provided a clear example. On stage one, a small group featuring Lenny Martinez, Jørgen Nordhagen, Lipowitz and Pogačar rode into the finish together. Lipowitz was the only one in that group who did not contribute to the work — and he heard about it afterwards. The Slovenian made clear his displeasure with his Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe rival, while simultaneously heaping praise on the other riders who had taken their turn.

Podcast co-analyst Jip van den Bos suggested that this makes Pogačar a genuinely intimidating presence — a theory given weight by the fact that Lipowitz was soon riding for the UAE leader rather than against him in the days that followed. "If you ride with him, you're a good guy — you get a Strava comment like Seixas did, or an arm around your shoulder like Nordhagen got," Zonneveld said. "If you don't ride with him, you get a dig in the post-race interview and you end up in the bad books."

Zonneveld also sees the intelligence behind this approach — particularly in the context of a reported blacklist. Team UAE rider Nils Politt previously revealed that the team had drawn up a list of riders to be kept on a short leash — riders not to be given any room. Politt's words — "you don't want to be on it" — sent a ripple through the peloton. "It's really so clever," Zonneveld said.

Matteo Jorgenson is cited as an example of a rider who spoke out against UAE — and has, in Zonneveld's telling, not won a race since. "It's going to be very hard for him when UAE starts with a strong team. They simply won't let him win." The result, he argues, is a chilling effect: other riders fall into line because they have seen what happens to those who do not. "They don't want to end up like Jorgenson."

The reason a team like UAE can operate this way comes down to depth and collective strength. "They have a say in how races play out even when someone other than Pogačar wins. That's why riders want to be among the ones he likes. It's pretty Armstrongian — though that was on a very different level entirely."

And yet, despite all of this, Pogačar's public image remains strikingly positive — especially compared to Tour de France rival Jonas Vingegaard. "Pogačar is just socially a lot more adept," Zonneveld explained. "That's why he has friends everywhere and is seen as the sympathetic one."