Armstrong sees himself in Pogacar and issues warning: "This won't help him, and won't make him any friends"

The main talking point after the seventeenth stage of the Tour de France, won by Richard Carapaz, was Tadej Pogacar's attack on Jonas Vingegaard. On the Col du Noyer, the Slovenian put his Danish opponent under pressure once again, but not everyone agreed with this move. Lance Armstrong advises Pogacar to ease off a bit.

"When I saw that attack, I immediately thought, I have an opinion about that," says the Texan, who teases his opinion before leaving it as a cliffhanger in his THEMOVE podcast. A few minutes later, he continues his story, "I have some experience to speak from. Here's the deal, it's a big mistake," he says about Pogacar's move on Wednesday.

"Everyone knows my career, and there was always speculation and accusations, so I speak from that experience. This was not necessary. It's also a political event because it only brings more tension for him," Armstrong believes. "This won't help him, and won't make him any friends. God bless him, but when I saw him go, I thought of myself. I've been in that same position."

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Armstrong thinks Pogacar should hold himself back a bit

But what exactly is the problem with Pogacar's playful attacks? "It's about perception. He should only be focused on winning the Tour. I understand him, it's hard to hold yourself back. But it's more than that, it's a political event. People will turn on you and eventually get tired of those attacks. I don't know why, but at some point, that will happen."

"We also hurt others uphill, just because we enjoyed it. But at some point, that comes back to you. It took me twenty years to understand that," Armstrong says somewhat cryptically in his podcast.

With his attack, Pogacar did successfully put Vingegaard under pressure, which sets the stage for a battle with number three Remco Evenepoel. "I think it's just a preview of what we'll see in the final days. That time trial suits Remco perfectly, and Vingegaard seemed to struggle," the American expects.