"He knows what the record is" - Lance Armstrong suggests Tadej Pogacar is targeting his Tour de France stricken record
CyclingMonday, 13 July 2026 at 13:00
Tadej Pogacar is two weeks away from winning yet another yellow jersey at the Tour de France as he commands the general classification. In doing so, he would join a legendary club of riders who have won La Grand Boucle five times.
Four of cycling's biggest names have won the Tour on five occasions - Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernaud Hinault and Miguel Indurain. If all goes to plan for the UAE Team Emirates - XRG rider, he will also make the step up and tie the record.
But Lance Armstrong believes the record books don't tell the full story. From 1999 to 2005, the American rider won seven successive editions of the Tour de France as he dominated the race. However, his wins were wiped from the records in 2012 after a doping investigation before he admitted to doing so in 2013.
Discussing Pogacar's potential record-equalling win in France, Armstrong claimed that the Slovenian is actually looking at his stricken record of seven wins as the benchmark, and not the five wins of the four other riders.
“Soon Pogacar is going to win his fifth Tour de France," Armstrong said on The Move Podcast.
"And then we’re going to have to read everywhere that he has equaled the 'all-time' record and is joining that select club. But 'guess what'? He doesn't even believe that himself. Not at all. He knows what the record is.”
Armstrong hopes Pogacar breaks record
Further elaborating on his feelings about pogacar potentially winning seven Tour de France titles, Armstrong insisted that he hopes he can succeed.
“He will be at it for even longer. By the way, I hope he succeeds. I am an athlete too. You play the game. All records can be broken, and this one may be broken as well,” concludes Armstrong.
The odds are very much in his favour to make it five wins at this time of asking. His UAE team have proved to be one of the strongest in the race as Pogacar took two stage wins - including a mountain domination of the general classification field, putting minutes into his rivals.
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Jonas Vingegaard is the best of the rest at 2:42 behind the world champion, while the other podium contenders sit at over three minutes down - including Remco Evenepoel, Paul Seixas and Juan Ayuso.
A versatile second week will offer some opportunities for the Slovenian to consolidate his lead before some tougher Alpine tests in the final week are set to wrap up the fight for yellow.
Gavin QuinnCycling Journalist
Gavin Quinn is a cycling journalist and ultra-distance cyclist with a BA in Journalism from Dublin City University. Formerly the Press & Communications Officer for Cycling Ireland, Gavin has worked inside the national team at the World Championships and has reported for the Irish Mirror, Mirror UK, and The42.
His expertise is backed by elite-level access, having interviewed stars like Sam Bennett and Ben Healy, as well as immense personal endurance. In 2025, he completed a 12,000km solo cycle from Ireland to Vietnam, following a 4,600km tour across Europe. From the cobbles of Paris-Roubaix to the gradients of the Tourmalet, Gavin’s writing focuses on the "romance and brutality" of the sport. Having visited 50+ countries, he brings a global, cultural perspective to his coverage of the pro peloton for CyclingUpToDate.
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- You know nothing about what I know. And I do know about Slovenia’s living standard but that is NOT the same as being happy. Luxembourg (and Switzerland) also have very high living standards and quite low happiness, you’re just helping to argue against your claims. As for Croatia, firstly is having a beautiful coastline (certainly not everywhere) an accomplishment for a population, I guess it is for someone who feels proud because his fellow countryman worked hard and achieved something but you know what, there isn’t a person in this world who can’t pretend to be proud by your standards.Mistermaumau13-07-2026
- Sorry, that kind of argument isn’t valid. Firstly, a few minutes over 80-85 hours is peanuts, secondly the gaps are staying more or less constant meaning others are improving by similar amounts just not catching up, thirdly, not uncommon (though more in the past I feel) to have similar gaps in one day races so it’s no big deal over 3 weeks really. What troubles me more is there’s almost never a bad day anymore, max one per year, that’s the fishy part.Mistermaumau13-07-2026
- You know nothing about us. Slovenia has one of the highest living standards in Europe, we in Croatia are not as high, but we're getting there. But we do have one of the most beautiful sea coasts in the world. Ad acta!!!mus-musculuspeedypogigonzales13-07-2026
- Been to both, several times, never saw more of any of that than elsewhere, definitely not anywhere near as much as Italians, Spaniards or Greeks. You’re more like the Portuguese. Strange if we believe you that you don’t score better in happiness rankings, where everyone outside brainwashed parts of the US instinctively answers knowing money doesn’t mean happiness.Mistermaumau13-07-2026
- That was the Mou that hides the forest of Mous.Mistermaumau13-07-2026
- I was born in Cleveland, Ohio and lived there till my 19th birthday, then my parents moved back to Croatia, Split. Now I,ve been living here for 26 years, and since the second Trump term, I started to hate America. I mean, really hate the orange orangutan and the stupid Maga Trump supporters, they make me puke. Anything else you would like to know?mus-musculuspeedypogigonzales13-07-2026
- Didn’t you once tell us about being in Ohio (Cleveland? Cinci? I forget) for many years and that is why you understood America so well?RidesHills13-07-2026
- 'Wins by minutes, not seconds' - that's almost exactly what Vingegaard said before the final week in the 2023 Tour (the Tour will be won by minutes, not seconds), when he turned his lead of a few seconds over Pogacar into an advantage of several minutes in just two days. That's how confident of his ability he was then, when he could more than match Pogacar. People talk more about Pog because he wins different types of races too.Hills3313-07-2026
- I live in Croatia, and I have relatives in Slovenia. I never lived in the West. I'm a Balkan "boy." You Westerners have no soul, no feeling for life, no real happiness, you're like robots... except the Italians and Spaniards, they know how to live. We in the Balkans enjoy life, it's not all about the money. Capish?mus-musculuspeedypogigonzales13-07-2026
- I had a long answer with evidence of what has changed for Pogačar in the past 5 years, but decided to delete all that. A question: would any evidence answer your questions or will you just raise them, without evidence or answers, no matter what people say? I ask honestly. An answer would help all of us know how or whether to respond to you. Thank you.RidesHills13-07-2026
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