On the second stage of the Tour of Slovenia, which was overshadowed by a serious crash, German cycling star Florian Lipowitz held back. The 25-year-old finished 45th in the main field after 181.8 kilometres from Radlje ob Dravi to Ormoz, with Serbian Dusan Rajovic taking the stage win. in the main peloton, before things get serious for last year’s Tour de France third-place finisher with the upcoming mountain stages starting on Friday.
Lipowitz was not affected by the serious crash involving several riders a good 39 kilometres from the finish. Shortly afterwards, the race even had to be neutralised for 25 minutes, as the race’s medical team was no longer able to provide assistance to the riders who had crashed.
Lipowitz’s team-mate Laurence Pithie from New Zealand took second place, thereby defending his lead in the overall standings. However, it was in the mountains that Lipowitz was set to take centre stage, particularly as the big names in cycling were all absent. At the Tour de France, which begins on 4 July in Barcelona, the Red Bull pro will once again go head-to-head with superstar Tadej Pogacar. The four-time Tour de France champion is also absent from his home country, however, and is currently competing in the Tour de Suisse.
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