“I’ve been in Tadej Pogacar’s position. I can tell you exactly what he was thinking" - Lance Armstrong sees himself in Hautacam domination of Tour de France leader

Lance Armstrong usually keeps a relatively low profile on The Move podcast. When it comes to Tour de France analysis, it’s typically George Hincapie and Bradley Wiggins who offer the boldest takes — the most biting criticisms, the strongest opinions.

But after Tadej Pogacar’s stunning triumph at Hautacam on Thursday's stage 12 — and the total collapse of Jonas Vingegaard and his Team Visma | Lease a Bike teammates — the Texan looked like a pig in mud. Watching Pogacar and UAE dismantle the Visma team brought back vivid memories of his own US Postal days, when (with the help of EPO) he systematically destroyed anyone who dared challenge him. He bulldozed the field across the seven Tours he dominated — before later being stripped of them.

In the post-stage analysis, Armstrong claimed he knew exactly what Pogacar had been thinking before launching his devastating attack. He spoke with relish — clearly enjoying the performance — and even referenced a couple of old Spanish teams, ONCE and Kelme, as examples of rivals who once tried to make life difficult for him, only for him to, in his own words, “mow them down”.

Armstrong believes Visma played directly into Pogacar’s hands with their aggressive approach — doing the hard work for UAE and leaving Pogacar’s teammates fresher in the finale. Not only that, he suggested Visma’s tactics may have fired Pogacar up even more for the decisive moment on Hautacam: “I’ve been in Tadej Pogacar’s position, where another team is controlling the race, and I can tell you exactly what he was thinking. First: ‘Thanks guys — my team doesn’t have to do a thing.’ Second, and more importantly: ‘I’m going to show these guys who’s boss.’ I was there — whether it was ONCE, Kelme or T-Mobile. Guys, I was ready to mow you down.”