The time lost by two-time Tour champion Jonas Vingegaard on the tenth stage of the Tour de France has put the Red Bull team – led by Germany’s Florian Lipowitz – in high spirits. The Dane is currently looking far from as confident as expected. Is second place actually a more realistic prospect than previously thought?
“Jonas has been working incredibly hard, which is why I think he was pretty much at his limit,” said Lipowitz. He added that the stage, with its short climbs, hadn’t really suited him. “I think he’s better suited to the longer climbs. That’s why it’s still relatively up in the air, but of course there’s hope,” he said when asked how realistic the chances were of finishing second overall in Paris.
Evenepoel: “We’re exactly where we want to be”
The Red Bull team is once again aiming for the podium at the end of the tour in Paris with the duo of Lipowitz, who finished third in the Tour, and the Belgian Olympic champion Remco Evenepoel, who is fulfilling a dual role. “We’re where we want to be, especially with ‘Lipo’, who’s in great form. I’m feeling really good too. We’re happy at the moment; we just need to keep it up,” said Evenepoel.
At the Le Lioran ski resort, Vingegaard lost 44 seconds to his long-standing rival and stage winner Tadej Pogacar; Lipowitz was also ten seconds faster than the Dane. In the overall standings, Vingegaard lies in second place, 3 minutes and 36 seconds behind Pogacar. Evenepoel is third, 30 seconds behind, whilst Lipowitz, in sixth place, is just over a minute behind Vingegaard.
Vingegaard: “It could be much worse”
“I think it’s been a pretty decent day for us. It could have been much worse,” said the 29-year-old Dane. Short climbs aren’t really his thing. He said he could be satisfied that, from his point of view, he’d managed to keep the gap so small. “I’ll go to bed tonight, and tomorrow is another day,” said Vingegaard.
Pogacar declined to comment on his rivals’ form. “I can’t say anything about my rivals’ form. All I can say is that I’m in really good form, and I think the Tour has really suited our team’s strengths so far,” said the Slovenian.
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