Armstrong and Bruyneel share ominous verdict on Pogacar after the Flèche Wallonne: "If he always raced like this he wouldn't lose any race"
Cycling
Following Tadej Pogacar's victory at La Fleche Wallonne, Lance Armstrong took to his podcast WEDŪ, with Johan Bruyneel and George Hincapie, to discuss just how impressive the Slovenian was.
"I won this race 29 years ago in 1996," said Armstrong. "Another day with another great performance by Tadej Pogacar who, as I said a few weeks ago, when this is all over is going to be considered the best cyclist in history."
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He made it clear that, although he won the race from the breakaway, it is normal to win the race on the final climb, as Alejandro Valverde did 5 times and as Pogacar did again yesterday.
"It was very good, he waited, it's what you have to do in this race, it's very low percentage that has won this race in a breakaway, that's how hard the finish is."
Johan Bruyneel went further in his analysis, assuring that if Pogacar always raced as he did yesterday, he would win and would not encounter surprises like last Sunday's shocking defeat at Amstel Gold Race.
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"I think Pogacar rode the perfect race, he didn't want to make any show or attack from a distance, I think if he had attacked probably he and Remco could have gone and then gamble it on the Mur du Huy, but in the end UAE carried the pace while he had riders and in the end he made an attack. If Pogacar rode like he did he wouldn't lose any races."
Bruyneel disagreed with this opinion of his former boss George Hincapie, who added an interesting reflection to the debate.
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"I disagree with you, Johan. I think if I had ridden like today in the Tour of Flanders I would have lost to Mads Pedersen or Mathieu van der Poel.
"So it depends on the race lines. On Sunday we thought whether he was tired and whether he was a human or a robot, but he has shown his superiority again. And people are not aware of how much stress the rain causes to the race. We saw guys like Skjelmose go to the ground. Pogacar makes it look easy but it's not."
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- Ciccone had a very strong end of season. Consistently attacking and livening up races. Hope he makes that last leap in progress and starts notching some significant wins. Great rider to watch.Occam10-11-2026
- Me too!!!!!Occam10-11-2026
- they can sign any 100 of top riders today but Pogi will win over Remco any time at the TDF unless something goes wrongabstractengineer10-11-2026
- the time for a GC rider to retire is when they cannot win stages, or have a significant level drop like from winner/podium into top 5/10 consistently. Roglic is still competitive and Froome raced even though he became pack fodder.abstractengineer10-11-2026
- He should be in a different team. It was detrimental. For them it does not matter if he does not develop. He should have gone to a team where they need him to succeed.abstractengineer10-11-2026
- Technically it is "strictly forbidden to deviate from the lane they selected when launching into the sprint and, in so doing, endangering others". But: 1. Marie did not endangered anyone. 2. Above rule 2.3.036 is a Road Cycling rule not CX. 3. In Cyclocross we have only not well defined "irregular sprint" without description what would that mean. But even if you use 2.3.036 for CX it is still wrongly applied rule.averagecyclist10-11-2026
- Technically, leedorney is correct. There was a deviation. It was just a very questionable call to disqualify Marie from the victory, especially since she most likely would have won regardless of it..
santiagobenites10-11-2026 - You're WRONG!!! ... Capish?PogiSloFans10-11-2026
- ALBERTO CONTADOR isn't the only former cycling star who is praising Pogačar as the "greatest rider in history." EDDY MERCKX about TADEJ POGAČAR: “He has revived a style of cycling that we had almost forgotten. He is now better than me.” Key statements by Merckx about Pogačar in 2026: - Acknowledging his superiority: This time, Merckx openly admitted, without any subsequent backtracking or reservations, that Pogačar had surpassed him and was now above him. This contrasts with 2024, when he quickly softened his remarks about Pogačar being faster. - The possibility of a historic triple (Giro, Tour and Vuelta): During the July Tour de France (where Pogi claimed his fifth title), Merckx stated that Pogi was the only cyclist in history capable of winning all three Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia, Tour de France and Vuelta a España) in a single season, provided the conditions were right and he had sufficient team support. - Lack of serious competition: Merckx emphasised that Pogačar has no real rivals in the mountains since 2024, thanks to his extraordinary climbing ability and the fact that he continues to improve despite still being under 28 (he turned 28 in autumn 2026). - Praise for his racing style: Merckx highlighted how Pogačar is bringing back the aggressive, uncompromising spirit of cycling's golden era, when races were not merely about calculated stages and tactical conservatism, but about attacking from long distances. PS: This is not "boring" ... this is called making real history... not statistical history. Capish?PogiSloFans10-11-2026
- No org will admit fault until the evidence in overwhelming and not even then. They have protected abusers and criminals.abstractengineer10-11-2026
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