Ullrich: "Pogacar is the best of all time. He would have beaten Pantani, Armstrong, and me."

A few days after the conclusion of the Tour de France, Tadej Pogacar's victory continues to spark reactions and comments, even from former greats.

Even the controversial Lance Armstrong had let himself go with several comments, one more provocative, on the Slovenian's total number of victories in the Grande Boucle : "He knows that the real record is seven" and the other more praiseworthy: "Pogacar is the strongest, he would have destroyed us".

Jan Ullrich also commented on the matter during his podcast "Ulle & Rick," along with Rick Zabel: "He could win the Tour de France by ten minutes over the second-place finisher, if he wanted to. Experts agree that Tadej Pogačar changed cycling and is the best of all time, and that's my opinion too. A Tadej Pogačar like that would have outclassed all of us at the time—Pantani, Armstrong, and me ."

Ullrich, in addition to praising Pogacar's qualities, also focused on the technological advances in modern cycling, which allow athletes to improve their performance: "I'm sure I could have been much stronger today than I was then. My best performance back then, without doping, would have been better with today's systems. I wonder why we didn't come up with the idea of ​​putting ice cubes in our jerseys to cool us down in the past? Besides, I've ridden a third of my annual kilometers for no reason. I could have saved myself that."

Finally, the German also had his say on the final stage in Paris : “It couldn't have been more emotional. I screamed from the sofa. It couldn't have been written in a better way. This finale was perfect for a superlative Tour de France.”

Photo: Sprint Cycling Agency