Germany’s cycling hope Florian Lipowitz wants to take part in the Tour de France next year.
“I would like to do the Tour next year,” said the 25-year-old from the German team Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe, who took third place on his debut in France last summer and won the junior ranking, on the ARD podcast Tourfunk.
There have also recently been positive signals from within our own ranks for a second participation in the most important cycling race of the year. “The team is definitely not averse to sending me to the tour,” said Lipowitz: “If everything goes well and we find a good path, I’m in good health and things go well in terms of sport, then you can see me again in France next year.”
In what role is the big question given the commitment of double Olympic champion Remco Evenepoel. For Lipowitz, a dual leadership with the Belgian is “definitely a possible option that we can do. In the end it is out of my hands. I think that we can still find a good way that no driver is disadvantaged in any way.”
You have to “look at how you organize the races beforehand. The preparation for a Grand Tour like this begins two or three months in advance,” explained the man from Ulm. You can therefore “not say that much yet”. A start in the Giro d’Italia, the first of the three major national tours, is currently “not under discussion,” said Lipowitz.
Lipowitz on Evenepoel:_”It’s good to have someone like that on the team”
The German was pleased with the move from Evenepoel, who was born in 2000 like Lipowitz. “Of course it’s always nice when you have such a successful driver in the team. It’s good to have someone like that in the team,” said Lipowitz about Evenepoel, whom he sees as one of the “absolute world leaders.”
Evenepoel’s commitment to Lipowitz brings another positive thing. “I think Remco is someone who likes to be in the public,” said Lipowitz, who has started training again after a six-week break: “That might be a good thing for me if I can do my things in the background. I hope that maybe not that much changes compared to last year, when Primoz (Roglic, editor’s note) was in the foreground.”