Lance Armstrong: 'Tadej Pogačar knows damn well what the real Tour de France record is'
CyclingMonday, 13 July 2026 at 16:33
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Follow us on GoogleDuring the Tour de France, Lance Armstrong releases a daily episode of his THE MOVE podcast, in which he shares his insights on the daily goings on of the Tour. After Stage 9, the American—whose seven overall victories were stripped following his doping confessions—spoke about the so-called record number of victories.
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For many people, it’s a foregone conclusion that Tadej Pogacar will win the Tour. This is also true for Armstrong, who sees the Slovenian joining the ranks of Eddy Merckx, Jacques Anguetil, Bernard Hinault, and Miguel Indurain. They, too, have each won the Tour five times.
"He's going to win this Tour, isn't he? His fifth. And after the finish, we're all going to hear—including ourselves—that Tadej Pogačar has tied the all-time record for Tour victories and joined that exclusive club of five," Armstrong said.
"Well, guess what? He doesn't believe that. He doesn't believe that at all. He knows damn well what the real record is," Armstrong says, referring to the seven times he rode into Paris in the yellow jersey between 1999 and 2005. "So don’t count on him taking a year off after that."
Read more below the photo.
Lance Armstrong holding up seven fingers, in 2005.
Armstrong hopes Pogacar will win the Tour more often
Armstrong—the unofficial record holder—hopes that Pogacar will surpass him. “It doesn’t matter; I’m an athlete: athletes play the game, and sometimes you break a record or set a new one. After all, records are there to be broken.”
"Tadej Pogačar knows exactly what the record is, so there's no way he's going to sit this one out. I really hope he goes for it," says the American.
It was Bradley Wiggins who provoked this outburst from Armstrong, claiming he could see a time in the near future when Pogačar would sit out the Tour de France to give his protégée, Del Toro, a chance to win. "Your'e 100% wrong about that", said Armstrong.
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David Bavin-HobbsChief Editor
David has been working in the sports & cycling industry for 16 years. Covering racing, business and technology, he has worked in communications for cycling companies, teams, and as a journalist. His proudest achievement is winning the first bike race he ever entered. He hasn't won a race since.
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Latest Comments
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- We're witnessing an existential crisis, and waht it means to be human in the midst of a soul-crushing rush to achieve the maximum physiological performance and race results for the benefit of sponsors and the men who ride in the cars and who live their lives in air-conditioned splendor. It's sad, but inevitable, a by-product of the continual arms race to produce the best machines and the best specimens to ride those machines, whatever the cost to the riders' wider life (or life span). We have witnessed similar developments in many sports and other types of businesses, as well as in the actual arms race, involving weapons of mass destruction, and now A.I., which some of its leaders admit may bring an end to human life. But if it does, they want to get there First, before their tech competitors or a foreign government. And the band played on. PS Actually, I do seen one small glimmer of hope: an effective labor uprising by riders that would set limits on training scheules, and that would provide on-site accommodations for the families (or relationships) of riders, so that they could live their full lives while training, as do most other athletes and people, in general.rjb13-07-2026
- We're witnessing an existential crisis, and waht it means to be human in the midst of a soul-crushing rush to achieve the maximum physiological performance and race results for the benefit of sponsors and the men who ride in the cars and who live their lives in air-conditioned splendor. It's sad, but inevitable, a by-product of the continual arms race to produce the best machines and the best specimens to ride those machines, whatever the cost to the riders' wider life (or life span). We have witnessed similar developments in many sports and other types of businesses, as well as in the actual arms race, involving weapons of mass destruction, and now A.I., which some of its leaders admit may bring an end to human life. But if it does, they want to get there First, before their tech competitors or a foreign government. And the band played on. PS Actually, I do seen one small glimmer of hope: an effective labor uprising by riders that would set limits on training scheules, and that would provide on-site accommodations for the families (or relationships) of riders, so that they could live their full lives while training, as do most other athletes and people, in general.rjb13-07-2026
- We're witnessing an existential crisis, and waht it means to be human in the midst of a soul-crushing rush to achieve the maximum physiological performance and race results for the benefit of sponsors and the men who ride in the cars and who live their lives in air-conditioned splendor. It's sad, but inevitable, a by-product of the continual arms race to produce the best machines and the best specimens to ride those machines, whatever the cost to the riders' wider life (or life span). We have witnessed similar developments in many sports and other types of businesses, as well as in the actual arms race, involving weapons of mass destruction, and now A.I., which some of its leaders admit may bring an end to human life. But if it does, they want to get there First, before their tech competitors or a foreign government. And the band played on. PS Actually, I do seen one small glimmer of hope: an effective labor uprising by riders that would set limits on training scheules, and that would provide on-site accommodations for the families (or relationships) of riders, so that they could live their full lives while training, as do most other athletes and people, in general.rjb13-07-2026
- We're witnessing an existential crisis, and waht it means to be human in the midst of a soul-crushing rush to achieve the maximum physiological performance and race results for the benefit of sponsors and the men who ride in the cars and who live their lives in air-conditioned splendor. It's sad, but inevitable, a by-product of the continual arms race to produce the best machines and the best specimens to ride those machines, whatever the cost to the riders' wider life (or life span). We have witnessed similar developments in many sports and other types of businesses, as well as in the actual arms race, involving weapons of mass destruction, and now A.I., which some of its leaders admit may bring an end to human life. But if it does, they want to get there First, before their tech competitors or a foreign government. And the band played on. PS Actually, I do seen one small glimmer of hope: an effective labor uprising by riders that would set limits on training scheules, and that would provide on-site accommodations for the families (or relationships) of riders, so that they could live their full lives while training, as do most other athletes and people, in general.rjb13-07-2026
- We're witnessing an existential crisis, and waht it means to be human in the midst of a soul-crushing rush to achieve the maximum physiological performance and race results for the benefit of sponsors and the men who ride in the cars and who live their lives in air-conditioned splendor. It's sad, but inevitable, a by-product of the continual arms race to produce the best machines and the best specimens to ride those machines, whatever the cost to the riders' wider life (or life span). We have witnessed similar developments in many sports and other types of businesses, as well as in the actual arms race, involving weapons of mass destruction, and now A.I., which some of its leaders admit may bring an end to human life. But if it does, they want to get there First, before their tech competitors or a foreign government. And the band played on. PS Actually, I do seen one small glimmer of hope: an effective labor uprising by riders that would set limits on training scheules, and that would provide on-site accommodations for the families (or relationships) of riders, so that they could live their full lives while training, as do most other athletes and people, in general.rjb13-07-2026
- No teammates on the Tourmalet. Too fast up the Tourmalet.
merganzer10-07-2026 - Reef is whistling past the graveyard by denying what was plain to see: Tadej crushed Jonas, beating him in the ascent and, even more decisively on the descent, where most of the gap was created. In the world of reality, rather than the fantsay that Reef related, Jonas will not become a better descender between now and Paris, and Tadej won't get less adept at the skill. Moreover, it wasn't only about the mano y mono, between the two Tour leaders, but the unraveling of Visma, and the dominance of UAE, especially IDT. Barring injury or some other anomalous occurrence, we'll look back at Tadej's win on stage six as the day he won the 2026 TDF.rjb10-07-2026
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- - How many times has Pog actually worn yellow now? The article hints he’s lost count—anyone got the exact stat?robert6506-07-2026
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