"I think tactically this guy is a lot better than Miguel Indurain" - Matteo Jorgenson draws comparisons to Spanish icon from Irish legend

Matteo Jorgenson has been making big waves over the last year and a bit. Ever since making the move to Team Visma | Lease a Bike, the American has surged into his role as one of the team's leading stars. Following his recent GC win at Paris-Nice for the second year running, many are even touting the 25-year-old as a potential Tour de France winner of the future.

One man who knows exactly what it takes to win a Tour de France, is Irish legend Stephen Roche. When asked if Jorgenson has the potential to follow suit, Roche is confident that the American can indeed do so, drawing a comparison with an icon of Spanish cycling. “I’m going to contradict myself here and say he hasn’t got the build for it, although neither did Miguel Indurain. When you see what he was doing on that climb when Lenny Martinez won the stage last week, he drilled it there," the former world champion tells Cycling Weekly.

“If he’d ridden to win the stage then he’d have won the stage. He rode to put a gap between him and the other riders, he didn’t ride with the intention of winning otherwise he might have kept a little bit back for the sprint at the end," Roche continues. "But he rode from the front and everyone was absolutely swinging behind him. Ok, it’s early season, it’s cold, but nevertheless he’s doing incredible performances at the moment.”

As touched upon there by Roche, the Irishman sees a lot of comparisons between Jorgenson and Indurain. But more than just a comparison, Roche can see the American actually better in some ways than the five-time Tour de France winner. “Definitely, but he [Jorgenson] could be even better. I think tactically this guy is a lot better than Indurain," says Roche. "Indurain was the kind of guy who had a big team around him and then he came out at the end and put down the power."

"This guy is very good, his approach is very elegant on the bike, and I think he’s a guy that can do climb after climb," Roche adds. "He’s done it for Jonas Vingegaard before, so I think he’s got a lot going for him. Those other big guys are pocket rockets, whereas this guy is a powerhouse.”

“But this guy doesn’t try to follow them, he just rides his own tempo. It’s a bit like me when I was against Pedro Delgado. If I had gone after Delgado every time he went on the attack then I’d never have seen the summit of so many climbs," continues Roche. "I always knew that I was better just making my own tempo and that would ultimately help me match him. This guy is the same. People used to say about me that I was like a TGV, if I got a gap, then nobody could close it. Jorgenson is similar.”