Greg LeMond was a guest of the Tour de France in Paris to celebrate the 40th anniversary of his third Tour de France victory in 1986. The only American winner of the Tour was on the podium when Tadej Pogačar was crowned the winner and predicted that he could win seven Tours, refuting any comparisons between Pogačar and Lance Armstrong.
"He hasn't had any accidents, no physical problems; he'll be able to carry on for another three or four years. He's going to win at least seven Tours," LeMond told L'Equipe as comparison of greatness began and Pogačar indicated he was keen to leave the 'Club des Cinq' and so probably try to win a record-breaking sixth Tour de France or even more.
Pogačar now lies equal with Merckx, Jacques Anquetil, Bernard Hinault, and Miguel Indurain on five Tour victories.
"There's Eddy Merckx, but I think now that Tadej is a cut above the rest. It's going to be hard for the others to compete. Maybe Paul Seixas, who is impressive, will be able to do it," LeMond said.
"But when you reach the summit that Tadej reached, it's difficult to beat that. Hinault and Merckx were like that."
Lance Armstrong has tried to muscle in on the debate on how many Tours de France Pogačar can win and the Tour record, suggesting on his podcast that the Slovenian "knows what the record is."
Armstrong won the Tour de France seven times, but his palmarès was obliterated, his Tour wins stripped, and he was banned for life after the 2012 USADA investigation revealed the full extent of his doping and he ultimately confessed.
"That's irrelevant. Lance didn't have his talent; he 'found' it at 28. Pogačar won his first Tour at [21]," LeMond said when L'Equipe mentioned Armstrong.
"Everyone talks about watts, but some people are born with a high VO2 max, and you can't compare that with a guy with a low VO2 max who wins seven Tours de France.
"There's no doubt, Pogačar has exceptional talent. Every now and then, out of millions of people, you have one who has 3 or 4% more. It's not much, but it changes everything in the Tour."
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