Comeback after a crash: Florian Lipowitz to compete in the Giro della Toscana

A crash in the Tour de France brought Florian Lipowitz’s race to a premature end. He underwent surgery on his collarbone straight away. Despite the injury, the Red Bull – Bora – hansgrohe performance team stuck to the original race schedule for the second half of the season. 9 September remained the target date, though there was no intention of forcing a start at any cost.

Rehabilitation following a fall for Florian Lipowitz

After ten days of rest, Florian Lipowitz began his rehabilitation in early August. Alongside targeted treatment for his collarbone injury, he completed his first longer sessions on the roller. “The first few days after the operation were mainly about getting the rest I needed. Being able to start training again was an important step. After a break like that, you naturally realise there’s still a long way to go. But I could feel myself making progress from session to session,” says Lipowitz.

Treatment for the collarbone injury and the return to training took place in parallel. The intensity and volume of training were increased gradually, in line with the healing process. “When returning from injury, it’s not about getting back to your previous training load as quickly as possible. We need to build up both load tolerance and performance in parallel. In Florian’s case, we saw early on that we were making good progress and could at least regard the originally planned return to racing as a realistic target. However, the key is to assess each step based on how he responds to the workload – not according to a date on the calendar,” explains John Wakefield, the team’s Director of Coaching.

The Giro della Toscana as a test of form

Florian Lipowitz is working towards his comeback with a structured training plan. Expectations remain deliberately modest. The one-day race serves primarily as a performance assessment. The training provides data on his progress. How the body reacts to race pace, battles for position, constantly changing demands and several hours of high-intensity exertion can only be fully assessed in competition.

"More than anything else, I’m looking forward to putting on a race number again and getting out there. After seven weeks without competition, I’m not quite sure where I stand. That’s what we want to find out. For me, these first races aren’t about the results. I want to see how my body responds to the demands of the race, get back into the swing of things and then decide, together with the team, what’s still possible this season,” says Florian Lipowitz.

Four races in five days

Following his initial assessment at the Giro della Toscana, further Italian one-day races are under consideration. Next up is the Coppa Sabatini on 10 September, followed by the Memorial Marco Pantani on 12 September and the Trofeo Matteotti on 13 September. A decision on which of these races Lipowitz will actually compete in will be made at short notice. The insights gained from each race day will be factored into the planning.

Immediately after this series of Italian races, Florian Lipowitz and the Performance Team will jointly decide on the programme for the rest of the season. The decision will focus not only on which races make sense from a sporting perspective, but also on which goals remain realistic following the injury-enforced break.

The World Cup as an option

The Road World Championships on 27 September in Montreal is up for debate. “Of course, the World Championship is a race that appeals to me. But one thing is also clear: if I’m not in good enough form, I don’t want to take a place away from another rider. We have lots of strong German riders who are well suited to the circuit in Montreal. I want to wait and see how these first races go and honestly assess where I stand. If I’m in good form, I’d very much like to compete in the World Championship, but I’m not putting any pressure on myself at the moment,” says Florian Lipowitz.