Following Florian Lipowitz’s serious crash at this year’s Tour de France, the German Cycling Federation is still hoping that the star will be able to compete at the World Championships in Montréal, Canada.
“I do think it’s a realistic prospect. A broken collarbone isn’t the end of the world,” national coach Jens Zemke told the German Press Agency. Normally, athletes can compete in their first races again after around six weeks, provided the wound heals well, said Zemke.
Zemke in conversation with Lipowitz
He had sent Lipowitz another message on Saturday morning. According to Zemke, the Swabian had expressed an interest in the World Championships – which are being held from 20 to 27 September – prior to the tour. The 59-year-old said he hoped Lipowitz still had ambitions. Lipowitz did not take part in last year’s World Championships in Rwanda, where the Germans failed to win a single medal.
Last year’s third-placed rider in the Tour crashed in a right-hand bend during the 16th stage, an individual time trial. Lipowitz recently left hospital following his serious crash and an operation near Lake Geneva and, according to his team manager Ralph Denk, has returned home.
Lipowitz’s withdrawal from the Tour came as a shock to many fans. Nevertheless, team manager Zemke – who, alongside his voluntary role as national coach, also worked for the Swiss Pinarello team during this year’s Tour de France – was pleased with the 25-year-old’s performance. “We have someone who can compete for a place on the podium. That’s the positive takeaway from Germany’s performance,” he said.
It wasn’t quite enough for the first black-red-gold stage victory since Nils Politt’s stage win in Nîmes in 2021. “No stage win for five years – that’s really tough,” said Zemke. The reasons for this are “far-reaching”. Overall, there are too few road races in Germany, partly due to ever-increasing requirements placed on organisers.
Zemke: Kanter has ‘made a strong case for himself’
Politt was competing in his tenth Tour and, as a domestique for Tadej Pogacar, had recently been assigned other duties. Other riders who left a lasting impression included the combative debutant Felix Engelhardt, sprinter Max Kanter, who narrowly missed out on victory, and Pascal Ackermann, who was left dejected following his crash on the 20th stage.
According to Zemke, Cottbus-based Kanter – who had missed out on a stage win by finishing second on the fifth stage in Pau – had “put in a strong performance”. According to the national coach, the German champion Engelhardt, who was often to be found in the leading groups and was even named the most combative rider on occasion, “benefited from wearing the champion’s jersey”.
“I’ll be getting in touch with him about the World Cup,” Zemke assured us regarding Engelhardt. “Our aim is certainly to put together a strong squad again. A medal should definitely be the target.”
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