In Slovenia, of all places, Florian Lipowitz worked impressively on his form and self-confidence for the Tour de France.
In the best manner of Tadej Pogacar, Florian Lipowitz stepped up and simply outpaced the competition on the mountain.
Like only the four-time Tour champion and reigning world champion from Slovenia, Germany’s best professional cyclist achieved the tour triumph in Pogacar’s homeland with two victories on the most difficult stages – and sent a signal to the competition almost two weeks before the start of the Tour de France.
“I’m really happy. It’s taken two years now,” Lipowitz explained after his success on Saturday, which gave him the overall lead.
He didn’t have to wait 24 hours for the next one. On Sunday, the man from Ulm did not manage his lead, but instead attacked again on the last mountain. Nobody could follow the 25-year-old, and even on the last flat stretch a larger group of pursuers couldn’t get to him.
Third overall victory for Lipowitz
Images that were reminiscent of Pogacar’s typical victories – but they also have to be given an asterisk: Apart from Lipowitz, the stars of the scene were missing from the 32nd Tour of Slovenia, which is not part of the World Tour.
Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe was clearly the strongest team, all jerseys with the exception of the white one for the best young rider went to the team from Raubling, Lipowitz won not only the overall but also the mountain classification – and also celebrated his fourth and fifth day victories as a professional cyclist.
The success in Pogacar’s homeland was his third overall victory on a tour after the Czech Tour 2023 and the Sibiu Tour 2024. Lipowitz is still missing a triumph at World Tour level. But that is of secondary importance for the introverted German. Lipowitz recently assured in the “SID” interview that he “just wanted to prepare well and be able to say after the tour that I did my best.”
People from Ulm like to avoid the hustle and bustle. This was his recipe for success last year, when he escaped from the slipstream of the highly decorated but aging Primoz Roglic and secured the first German Tour podium in 19 years.
At the same time, Pogacar dominates in Switzerland
This time too, others will be the focus. Above all, Pogacar, who skipped his home tour and used the Tour de Suisse, which took place at the same time, as an endurance test. After numerous super-dominant performances – not just this spring – there seems to be no way around the Slovenian on the Tour of France.
Internationally, the Dane Jonas Vingegaard is also more prominent than Lipowitz, especially after his dominant Giro victory – in Pogacar’s absence – the 2022 and 2023 Tour winner is seen as the first challenger.
Also in focus: Paul Seixas, the 19-year-old prodigy who, on his tour debut, not only has to cope with the immense exertion but also the overwhelming longing of the Grande Nation for the first success of a Frenchman since 1985.
And at least in the early days of the tour, the attention of the Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe team is likely to be on someone else: double Olympic champion Remco Evenepoel, highly paid newcomer, ambitious to the core, but less strong in the high mountains than Lipowitz, is already eyeing the yellow jersey.
Finally, the tour begins with a team time trial on fairly flat terrain. Lipowitz’s days come afterwards. And he seems ready for that.
