"Pogacar is special and he is capable of anything" - Johan Bruyneel notes striking difference between modern leaders and Lance Armstrong

Modern riders are very different than the ones we used to have in pro cycling until two decades ago, or even 10 years ago. Training methods and nutrition have changed completely, and top riders stay at the top all year round. That surprises Johan Bruyneel who shows the stark contrast with the Lance Armstrong days.

"In Lance's time, we were not interested in the classification of the Volta ao Algarve or any other stage race. If you won that, it meant that you were in shape too early," the Belgian pundit said in The Move podcast. "I am not convinced that this is the best way, but Pogacar is special and he is capable of anything."

Whilst Pogacar rode to a comfortable and unchallenged UAE Tour victory this past week, Jonas Vingegaard - although with less ease - went on to win the Volta ao Algarve after hitting his rivals hard in the race's time-trial. The two main contenders for the Tour de France have dealt their first blow of the season.

Now however both will follow very different paths. Paris-Nice and the Volta a Catalunya are in the schedule for the Team Visma | Lease a Bike rider, whilst the World Champion will exclusively ride one-day races throughout the rest of the spring. Even for the modern climbers this is a big shift in schedule and goals, which surprises Bruyneel quite a lot.

"Pogacar's main goal will be the Tour again this year. What I find very strange is that he will not be riding any more stage races until the Dauphiné in June," he argues. "I would say that you should prepare your body for such a long and tough event as the Tour by doing stage races. So that you get used to the daily effort and train your recovery capacity. Apparently that is no longer necessary these days."

However, in the past these two riders have shown to be able to quickly reach an extremely high level, despite having flawed preparations for the Tour de France. Bruyneel also noted that during the UAE Tour, the UAE Team Emirates - XRG rider has not shown any difficulties, and believes that he could've actually had harder days if he was on a training camp.

"Pogacar rode the time trial at full speed in the UAE Tour and the final climb in the last stage as well. But if you look at those other stages... Pogacar probably suffers more during training camp than during the UAE Tour. The altitude training camps are an excellent alternative to stage races in modern cycling."

"During those training camps, race situations are simulated. In racing, you have to take into account many external factors that you do not have during training camps. But mentally, that must be super tough," he concluded.