It was an uplifting moment. In many ways. It was less than two kilometres to the last high mountain of this year's Tour de France - up to La Plagne, beyond the 2,000 metre mark. There, at the end of the last mountain stage, two days before arriving in Paris, you could cement your results - at least as far as the overall standings are concerned. In the kind of weather you wouldn't want to chase a dog out the door in. Temperatures in the single digits, pouring rain. And so it went Florian Lipowitz out of the saddle, sat down in front of Tadej Pogačar and Jonas Vingegaard, pedalled with all his might - with the ultimate goal in mind: to win the white jersey at his Tour debut and climb onto the podium in the evening light on the Champs-Élysées in Paris as third overall - with the Arc de Triomphe as a backdrop and in close proximity to the two best tour specialists of the moment: Pogačar and Vingegaard. Perhaps the two were a little taken aback when the white lightning bolt whizzed past two kilometres before the finish and took the celebrities into its slipstream. But Lipowitz had realised that his most important rival Oscar Onley who had been clinging to him like a limpet in the overall and young rider rankings for days and had unexpectedly closed in on him in the classification the day before. The gap was a full 22 seconds when they were over almost all the mountains of the Tour. The weakness of the opponent triggered an impulse. "When I saw that, I gave it my all," said the 24-year-old professional cyclist from Team Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe at the finish, which he reached in fourth place on the day. He extended his lead over rival Onley from Team Picnic PostNL by 41 seconds.
Federal Chancellor congratulates Florian Lipowitz
It was perhaps the decisive moment in Florian Lipowitz's cycling career so far. He won the final test of strength, he kept his nerve - he showed the patience that he had lacked the day before. A quick learning success. A successful maturity test. With which he crowned an outstanding debut in the most important and most difficult cycling race: as third overall behind the two riders who are currently in the lead. The biggest success for a German since Andreas Klöden finished second in Paris. That was in 2006. A long time ago, and a different era in cycling. Lipowitz's successful Tour was also noticed and celebrated at a political level: "A sensational German success at the Tour de France: congratulations, Florian Lipowitz, on a magnificent third place! This achievement not only makes my heart beat faster as a passionate amateur cyclist, but also inspires many cycling fans throughout the country", wrote Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz on the Internet short message service X.
Rapid maturity
But things could have turned out differently. The day before the race in La Plagne, he almost failed the class test. The racer, who everyone now calls "Lipo" like a mate, almost lost all his skins in the rain on the way to the Col de la Loze - winning the white jersey and the podium place were in jeopardy, both of which seemed almost certain after Remco Evenepoel abandoned after the finish in Superbagnères in the Pyrenees, so confidently did he have the chasers under control. "The last two kilometres were hell," Lipowitz had said afterwards at the stage finish, which had been hit by hail, after he had mustered all his remaining strength to at least limit the time loss on this day - which had resulted from a mixture of overconfidence and Lipowitz's lack of experience, but also from poor coaching and a strange team strategy. In the end, everything went well. "I slept well," said the up-and-comer the day after the sporting low blow, losing almost one and a half minutes to Onley - after around 3,000 kilometres, the two were still separated by a paltry 22 seconds. No pressure, no fear of failure? "I knew I had to deliver," said Lipowitz. And he delivered.
The pressure seems to be getting to Florian Lipowitz
Alongside his qualities as a climber, this is probably the former biathlete's greatest quality: his fighting spirit, his apparent indifference to pressure, his focus on the essentials, an inner life that seems to be penetrated by little from the outside. Lipowitz looks as if he is wearing a kind of three-layered membrane as a second skin, through which he can bring his performance to the road and the sweat of his work can escape, but from which disturbing environmental influences roll off - even if they hit you with the pressure of enthusiasm from a country with a population of 80 million. "For me, it's somehow incredible that so many people know me now, that you see so many German flags along the route and so many people cheering me on. It shows how big the Tour is. And it's nice that the Germans are getting excited about it again. If I can contribute to this with my performance, then I would be very, very happy," said the new crowd favourite. The Swabian comes across as both grounded and reserved - no comparison to the quite broad-chested performances of his predecessors in the white jersey, Tadej Pogačar and Remco Evenepoel. He first has to come to terms with his rapid rise from junior biathlete to cycling marathon competitor, years of training with Team Tirol and now his breakthrough into the world elite.
Teamwork at Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe? Not a chance
The newcomer on the big stage seems to know exit strategies from the madness of top-class sport, being able to escape into his own little lipo world. What's more, as the only one in the top ranks of the overall standings, he could and had to switch into lone wolf mode. And he did this with flying colours. Lipowitz praised the support from his team. But most observers remained puzzled as to what he meant. No top rider seemed to be so alone during the three weeks. His team-mates at Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe were largely non-existent as help. The Russian Aleksandr Vlasov, himself once fifth in the Tour, had come to France without form. Team-mate Primož Roglič, bought in for millions as the leader for the grand tours, put on a solo show as if he was still the number one and not the number two in his own racing team. Nevertheless, Lipowitz repeatedly praised his experienced team-mate, whom he had long since demoted to a noble helper in terms of performance. They had "open roles", Roglič would support him with advice - Lipowitz never tired of emphasising how everything was in order. Lipowitz' should have been able to claim a clear hierarchy and visible assistance from the veteran. In the end, the impression remained that the outstanding athlete was visibly denied unconditional recognition in his own racing team. A strong ensemble of unconditionally loyal UAE team-mates like around Pogačar? A strategy like Visma | Lease a Bike, which was clearly orientated towards a captain like Jonas Vingegaard? A concerted chase with noble helpers like Warren Barguil and Frank van den Broek like Picnic PostNL, which dragged the leader Oscar Onley back into the race for the podium and the white jersey? Visible towing services like Bruno Armirail and Callum Scotson on the final climb in La Plagne for the Austrian leader Felix Gall at Decathlon-AG2R? Not to be seen from the men in the Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe jerseys.
Team tactics cause astonishment
The cycling nations wondered how the German racing team, with a double strategy that was difficult to understand, had Lipowitz and the Slovenian Roglič ride alongside or against each other rather than with each other. "I have the impression that everyone in this team rides for themselves," said Rodrigo Beenkens, who has been commentating on the Tour de France for RTBF in the cycling nation of Belgium since 1990. Lipowitz was sometimes accused of overconfidence and individual mistakes. Which is certainly true, but Beenkens also had an opinion that did not give the Red Bull management good marks: "He is not responsible for his mistake. It's the fault of those who should be giving him instructions. He's only just discovering the Tour."
Where was the leadership?
RB's team management repeated the mistake of stage 18 on the following day's stage, when Roglič again left his team-mate isolated with an early offensive, the Belgian expert said: "On such a short stage (the last mountain stage was shortened to 95 kilometres at short notice due to the consequences of an animal epidemic; editor's note). it should have been Roglič's mission to stay with Lipowitz, to give him support, to help him." The Slovenian wore the sponsor logos at the front for a few minutes in front of the cameras and then rattled through the classification on the final climb - misjudging his own abilities, the usual course of the race on a stage like this and ignoring the necessary teamwork. It is often said that attack is the best defence. But these tactical manoeuvres meant that the team-mate in particular could feel attacked, who had to manage his own affairs - also because the team management had sent a team into the Tour that did not actually meet the classification ambitions: with sprinter Jordi Meeus, rider Danny van Poppel (who left early due to the birth of his second child, editor's note)The Italian Gianni Moscon, who remained largely inconspicuous as an experienced rider and driver, and the Tour debutants Laurence Pithie and Mick van Dijke, whose roles somehow remained inexplicable.
Especially since, as Classics specialists, they should have prevented the two classification riders from losing a minute on stage 1 because they missed the connection to Pogačar, Vingegaard & Co. at the expected wind edge. Rolf Aldag actually explained later that this had been done on purpose to avoid the scramble and the risk of crashing in the first big bunch sprint. It was just one of many puzzling tactical explanations that came out of Denk's racing team. Nevertheless, the team boss celebrated Lipowitz' success as a result of good teamwork: "To be here in Paris with this result is a great moment for Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe, but also for myself. Florian has achieved the best result in our team's history at the Tour de France, winning the white jersey for the first time. It makes me proud how we presented ourselves and our partners here." It has to be said: Lipowitz's success was achieved despite his weak team, not on the basis of strong teamwork. The youngster's performance is all the more impressive.
Two days after the tour, it became clear that the success was based on a fragile foundation. The racing team announced that they were parting ways with Head of Sport Aldag immediately "on the best of terms". In fact, the racing team needs a critical review of its Tour performance - whether Aldag is responsible for the disorganised performances and the poor selection of riders for the Tour line-up is hard to judge from the outside. "With Florian Lipowitz winning the white jersey and finishing on the podium at this year's Tour de France, we have achieved the goals we set ourselves four years ago and have therefore jointly decided that this is a good time for both sides to find new challenges," said a team press release on the separation. A rather abrupt end to a supposedly successful collaboration - in the middle of the season. The press department of the racing team declined TOUR's enquiries about the Tour appearance. The former Belgian national coach, Sven Vanthourenhout, took on a position as sporting director directly after the Tour - he is considered a supporter of Lipowitz's opponent Evenepoel.
Florian Lipowitz or Remco Evenepoel?
And what happens next? "The first Tour podium is another step on the way to winning the yellow jersey at some point," emphasised Denk. He added that he would like to strive for this success with Lipowitz. It could once again be one of those statements that could later come back to haunt the team boss - because he formulates things as promises, but then sees them as unfulfilled. Several racing drivers, from Pascal Ackermann to Emanuel Buchmann can report on this. Because it is very likely in the scene that in the coming year Remco Evenepoellast year's Tour bronze medallist, rides for Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe. This is likely to lead to internal team conflicts similar to those seen on the French roads this year.
Remodelling work? Or partial demolition?
There is a lot of work ahead of the next step. According to Denk, the collaboration with Lipowitz has been agreed on a long-term basis. The racing team does not publish contract durations. An agreement until 2027 was rumoured on the scene before the start of the Tour. In any case, Denk has to moderate a major upheaval. What will become of Roglič, whose contract expires at the end of the season and who looks a long way off his best performances shortly before his 36th birthday? Are the rumours that Remco Evenepoel has given in to Denk's courtship after several attempts really true? And how does the ambition of the 25-year-old top star from Belgium, whom Lipowitz has clearly dominated in recent tours, fit in with the young German's natural ambitions? What will the team manager do with the top cyclists Jai Hindley (Giro winner in 2022) and Aleksandr Vlasov (Tour fifth in 2022), who are increasingly being passed through the team hierarchy?
What does the future hold for Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe?
Lipowitz did not want to dwell on his future after the finish. "We've seen that Pogi and Jonas are on a different level. I just want to enjoy the moment now, with my family, with my girlfriend. The last three years have been pretty good for me. But it won't go on like this forever, I'm sure I'll have setbacks," Lipowitz told the newspaper L'Équipe, mouthpiece of the Tour, as he said goodbye. There he was again - the young man who doesn't seem to be easily rattled. Unless, of course, his passion for fast cycling gets the better of him, as with his high-spirited attack on the way to Courchevel, for which he almost paid dearly. But you have to understand that too, given his talent. It's just annoying when "Pogi" and Jonas are just messing around at the Tour.
Andreas Kublik
Editor
