Armstrong believes Pogacar made a big mistake: "I'm going to share something I've never shared before"

Lance Armstrong was already critical of Tadej Pogacar after the seventeenth stage of the Tour de France for his aggressive racing style, and he escalated his criticism following Pogacar’s solo victory in the nineteenth stage to Isola 2000. "It’s also a political event, and you shouldn’t give others a reason to hate you," Armstrong remarked.

Pogacar caught the last breakaway rider, Matteo Jorgenson from Visma | Lease a Bike, with a strong eight-kilometer solo effort in the final part of the mountain stage to Isola 2000. "We take nothing away from the exceptional athlete he is," Armstrong began in his THEMOVE podcast. "But I just scratched my head after seeing what he did."

"We thought Matteo Jorgenson had it, but Pogacar apparently thought differently," the American continued. "I’ve been in Pogacar’s position, with my race number on and a start and finish line. What we saw is the biggest mistake he has made in his career. Other teams don’t like it, fans—except for Slovenian ones—prefer not to see it, and the French media is not a big fan either. Trust me, it’s a big, unnecessary mistake," Armstrong explained.

"I understand the arguments of 'it’s a race,' but you are also dealing with a political campaign. You shouldn’t give others a reason to start hating you, I repeat: you shouldn’t give others a reason to hate you. Or dislike you, or doubt you," stated the former rider for Motorola and US Postal.

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Armstrong emphasizes he is a big fan of Pogacar

"I'm going to share something I've never shared before, with the whole world," Armstrong goes a step further. "We're talking about the 2000 Tour de France, maybe Johan Bruyneel knows the story. I was working with Michele Ferrari. I pulled away from Marco Pantani and Jan Ullrich and finished four minutes ahead of them, but on the bus I saw a message from Ferrari: big mistake, it said. That was it," he recounts a similar case where the competition was dominated.

"A Tour is a marathon combined with NASCAR and a political campaign. It lasts three weeks. And that is difficult and it makes it different from other sports," says Armstrong, who wants to clarify that he has nothing against Pogacar. "In fact, I'm a fan. But I sit in front of the TV saying, don't do it, don't do it. Precisely because I'm his supporter. He can stand on the highest podium in Nice, that is his victory. But now, he would have been better off staying with his teammates."

'A Tour is a marathon, combined with NASCAR and a political campaign. Of three weeks. And that's hard and that's what makes it different from other sports,' said Armstrong, who wants to clarify that he has nothing against Pogacar. 'Indeed, I am a fan. But I do sit in front of the TV: don't do it, don't do it. Precisely because I am his supporter. He can be on the highest scaffold in Nice, that's his victory. But now he would have been better off staying with his teammates.'