Lance Armstrong sees only one thing that can stop Tadej Pogačar: “There is no equal in any sport”

Is the Tour de France already decided after just six days? Lance Armstrong thinks so. On Thursday, Tadej Pogačar seized control in the first mountain stage of the race, going over the Col du Tourmalet and opening up a gap that already sits at around three minutes. The well-known American, himself no small figure in cycling history, watched with wide eyes as Pogačar delivered yet another extraordinary display.

“This is the equivalent of someone winning the New York Marathon by five minutes,” Armstrong began on his THEMOVE podcast. “On an international level, there is no equal, in any sport. This is once in a lifetime. The most dominant athlete in the world. This is Novak Djokovic winning the Wimbledon final 6-0, 6-0, 6-0.”

Pogačar made his move 43 kilometres from the finish, and for Armstrong, that was the moment the race changed completely. “He went with 43 kilometres to go: that was see you in the showers. But we are not surprised. You can see it in the other riders... they know. They know how this is going to play out. The only factor that could still change anything is a crash or bad luck, and even that might not stop him,” Armstrong said.

Armstrong then took the argument one step further. In his view, there is not a rider, team or tactical plan that looks capable of bringing Pogačar back at this point in the Tour de France.

“There is one thing that could eventually beat Tadej Pogačar. And it is not a person, it is not a team, it is not a crash, it is not an accident, it is not bad luck... It is boredom. I am not joking,” the American stated.

Armstrong said he understood that feeling because, in his own words, he had once been in a comparable position. “Because I have been in that position myself. I have been in the situation where — whatever everyone says or thinks — after a while, it just becomes a job. You are paid to win, you are supposed to win, of course you do not want to lose, but it feels different.”

Armstrong also believes he has seen signs that things may be starting to feel that way for Pogačar. “I looked at him, you see his interview after the race, right? This is a guy doing it on autopilot... The guy at the finish line today looked like someone who was just uninterested,” he said.

“And I actually have a lot of sympathy for that, because... he puts an enormous amount of time into preparing for this, and listen: Tadej Pogačar would love a fight, just a straight-up, open fight. Just ‘come on, let’s go and battle this out’ — he would love that. But he is not going to get it,” Armstrong expects.

Author: David Bavin-Hobbs - [email protected]