The new era: The great talents of the overall classification - Lipowitz, Onley & Riccitello

Tadej Pogačar and Jonas Vingegaard have shared all six Tour de France victories between them since 2020. But for the first time since the beginning of their era, there is a new generation of cyclists who don't care about the big names. Here: Florian Lipowitz, Oscar Onley and Matthew Riccitello.

Not every talent thrusts itself into the limelight. Some riders develop almost unnoticed, achieve results without making a big show of it, and seem like the quiet ones in the hustle and bustle of the peloton until things get serious and it suddenly becomes clear how much substance is behind them. This part of the series is all about these "quiet" talents: Florian Lipowitz, Oscar Onley and Matthew Riccitello do not stand for big announcements or loud roles in the team, but for consistent performance, clever race organisation and the will to work their way forward step by step. Three names that rarely seek the biggest stage, but are increasingly showing that they deserve it.

Florian Lipowitz - The German Tour hopeful

At 25, Lipowitz is the oldest of the new generation, but only came to professional cycling late in life. Before that, the German was a biathlete. This unusual career distinguishes him from the ever younger young star sensations. His diesel-like consistency on the mountain brought Germany its first Tour podium in 20 years in 2025. And that despite helper duties at the start of the tour. His racing team will probably not make this mistake again in the future.

Lipowitz has the talent of being hardly mentally dependent on other riders. He can crank up climbs in time trial mode, even if he has already lost time - ideal for stage races. In 2025, he collected two other podiums in addition to the Tour: second at Paris-Nice and third at the Dauphiné. Florian Lipowitz and Remco Evenepoel are to ride as a double lead-out for the Tour de France. The future as a grand tour rider is open to Lipowitz, he has exactly the right profile for the job and even has the edge over Evenepoel.

Oscar Onley - Lipowitz's competitor

Hardly any rider surprised more in 2025 than Onley. The 23-year-old had already attracted attention a few times before, but nobody had expected his fourth place at the Tour de France. Like Florian Lipowitz, Onley is currently preparing meticulously for the Tour of France again without competing in too many races. Of all the breakthrough riders in 2025, Onley flew under the radar the most. He didn't enter the WorldTour with the hype of a Del Toro or Ayuso. With just two victories in his palmarès, he is the most inconspicuous. The young Brit shows many parallels to the German hopeful Lipowitz, including his way of dealing with the big media hype.

With his switch to INEOS, he has a much stronger team behind him since this season, but also has two rivals in the overall classification in Kévin Vauquelin and Thymen Arensman. However, the switch also brings with it the chance of a podium at the Tour, should the Briton be able to ride as freely as he did with his old team.

Matthew Riccitello - Under the radar

With a Paul Seixas in the team and the aforementioned talents from the other teams, Matthew Riccitello tends to fly under the radar. Hardly anyone talks about the 24-year-old American anymore, even though he is one of the most interesting climbing talents. His comfort zone is long climbs, where rhythm, efficiency and stamina count more than explosive attacks. This is a quality that is particularly valuable in Grand Tours because it often decides the third week more than a single strong day.

Riccitello is still more of a project for the overall classification than a ready-made winner: consistency over three weeks and a more stable time trial are the obvious construction sites. But his basic profile is rare enough to take him seriously. He showed that in 2025 at the Tour of Spain, where he finished fifth overall. If he can find a few per cent in the time trial and reduce his performance fluctuations, he can establish himself as a classics rider in the long term, who can suddenly slip into the top 5 or even onto the podium in a Grand Tour - especially in editions with a lot of climbing and fewer long time trials.