David Langenbein, dpa
In the home country of Tour de France dominator Tadej Pogacar, Germany’s cycling hopeful Florian Lipowitz is looking to put the finishing touches to his preparations for the highlight of the season. From Wednesday, the 25-year-old will be competing in the relatively lesser-known Tour of Slovenia and, in the absence of Pogacar – who is opting for the tougher Tour de Suisse – is focusing on a targeted build-up. “We’re hoping the tour will be a bit quieter, without too many expectations, without too much stress,” says last year’s third-place finisher in the Tour de France, which begins on 4 July this year.
However, it is probably wishful thinking to believe that the Red Bull pro won’t be closely watched during his final warm-up for the Tour in cycling-mad Germany. The hype he has generated with his performances is simply too great. Expectations are too high that he will once again be among the best in France this year. In Slovenia, the former biathlete goes into the race as the favourite. However, although the route is hilly, it offers only a few really difficult climbs and no true mountain finish.
Lipowitz is already in good form this spring
The German is still waiting for his first stage race victory as a professional, but he hasn’t committed to Slovenia because of the potential for better opportunities elsewhere. “I just want to race, give it my all, and then we’ll see if I end up with a win somewhere,” explains the 25-year-old.
Lipowitz has already demonstrated his climbing prowess this year. He finished third in the Tour of Catalonia. In the Tour of the Basque Country, he came second behind France’s new young star, Paul Seixas (19). In the Tour de Romandie, only the dominant Tadej Pogacar finished ahead of him. “I can be really happy with my spring so far, even though the build-up to Catalonia was a bit bumpy. Basically, I’ve been able to improve from race to race,” says Lipowitz.
The German wants to "step it up a notch or two"
With the 113th Tour de France just around the corner, the big names are giving each other a wide berth. Pogacar is racing in Switzerland. Denmark’s Jonas Vingegaard is recovering after his triumph at the Giro, and Lipowitz’s co-captain Remco Evenepoel is also sitting out any further races. Seixas crashed during the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes following an outstanding spring and withdrew. The young star is now set to take a few days’ break before resuming his preparations for the Tour.
Lipowitz feels he is in even better form than last year: “I believe I’ve developed as a rider overall. On top of that, my performance figures have naturally improved slightly.” At the Tour de Romandie, he had already shown the same form as last year at the Tour de France. His attacks on the final stage also earned him Pogacar’s respect. “When he attacked for the second time, it was pretty impressive,” said the world champion.
And Lipowitz still sees potential in himself. “That’s why I’m naturally hoping that, if my preparations go well, I’ll be able to step it up a notch or two,” he says. But will that be enough to challenge Pogacar and Vingegaard? “It’s difficult, of course. I hope I haven’t reached my peak performance yet.”
Back to Slovenia for some peace and quiet and altitude training
However, the role Lipowitz can play will also depend largely on how the dynamic works out with Red Bull’s multi-million-euro signing, Evenepoel. “We saw in Catalonia that we work well together. The atmosphere is always good when we’re out and about together,” says the German. Most recently, the pair were also together at the high-altitude training camp in the Sierra Nevada in Spain.
Lipowitz isn’t a fan of all the fuss surrounding him anyway, so he doesn’t feel out of place in the shadow of the extroverted Belgian. After the Tour of Slovenia, the German will be heading back to Kühtai with his girlfriend to enjoy some peace and quiet whilst he trains at altitude. “Then I’ll be able to prepare well for the Tour there,” he says.
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