Lance Armstrong Criticizes UAE and Tadej Pogacar: “Their Strategy Doesn’t Make Sense; I Don’t Understand Their Decisions”

Lance Armstrong Criticizes UAE and Tadej Pogacar’s Tactics: “I Don’t Understand Their Strategy; It Doesn’t Make Sense”

Lance Armstrong, speaking on The Move podcast with colleagues George Hincapie and Bradley Wiggins, criticized the tactics employed by UAE Team Emirates during the eleventh stage of the 2024 Tour de France. Armstrong, a former seven-time Tour winner (titles later stripped due to doping), expressed confusion over Tadej Pogacar’s strategy and the team’s decision-making.

During the stage, Pogacar pushed his team hard before launching an attack 31 kilometers from the finish. Initially, the move created a gap, seemingly putting Pogacar in a strong position to widen the lead over his rival, Jonas Vingegaard. However, Vingegaard managed to close the gap on the subsequent climb. Armstrong remarked, “This is the Tadej Pogacar we know and in many ways love; he is the best cyclist of this generation. But anyone watching the stage without context would have thought he was the one trailing Jonas Vingegaard by 1:15, not the other way around. I don’t understand what’s happening in their team meetings. They have 4 riders in the top 10. It was a tough stage, but a stage where they could have made a difference. It doesn’t make sense what they did.”

Armstrong also praised Vingegaard’s performance, noting the significance of his achievement, especially after recovering from a crash in the Itzulia: “Great day for Jonas Vingegaard, perhaps the greatest day of his career in the Tour de France.”

Hincapie and Wiggins echoed Armstrong’s sentiments, criticizing Pogacar’s choice to attack on an unsuitable day. Hincapie highlighted Vingegaard’s impressive comeback, while Wiggins suggested that Pogacar’s actions indicated a loss of confidence: “It was a strange stage. The other day Tadej said that Jonas was afraid of him, but I think it was the opposite. He had two teammates with him and 30 kilometers left; all he needed to do was maintain the lead. I don’t know what he expected to gain, maybe another 30 or 40 seconds over his rivals, but he’s shown a lack of confidence.”

Wiggins even compared the stage to a cinematic moment, likening it to a Rocky Balboa fight where Vingegaard, against the odds, managed to recover and win the sprint, imagining him shouting “Adrian!” as he crossed the finish line.