Armstrong shakes his head after reading comments on Tour de France route: "We were told that every year too"

Armstrong quickly wanted to address something. "I’ve read comments suggesting that the ASO or Tour de France created a Pogacar-proof route," he said, referring to climbs like Hautacam, Mont Ventoux and Col de la Loze, where Jonas Vingegaard has performed better than his main rival Tadej Pogacar in the recent past.

"That’s something we were told every year too — that a route had been created to counter Armstrong or US Postal. But it doesn’t matter one bit. We always joked that even if it were a 21-day criterium in Paris, we’d find a way to win."

"You don’t design a route that’s anti-Pogacar, that argument doesn’t make sense," the ex-rider from Texas reiterated. "The best riders just prepare for the course they’re given, and in the end, the best man will win the Tour de France 99 times out of 100."

However, Armstrong did highlight a potential issue: starting in the north of the country could be tricky, as he knows from experience. "In that part of France, the weather can play a role in the first days. It looks like the end of the world up there," he said, referring to the early stages after the Grand Départ in Lille.

Former team director and co-host Johan Bruyneel has his top three names for the podium: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard and Remco Evenepoel. "I can’t think of another podium. There’s a big gap between those three and the rest. This year, Joao Almeida was 19 minutes behind, finishing fourth."

"It’ll also be interesting to see which top teams bring which riders, as you’ll need very strong riders," the Belgian said, referring to the first week in northern France, near the Belgian border. "But UAE-Team Emirates, Visma | Lease a Bike and Soudal Quick-Step will have done their homework. The stress factor will be very high, but having strong riders around the team leader can help reduce that."