The German cycling star Florian Lipowitz starts his 2026 season this Thursday at the Mallorca Challenge. After his sensational breakthrough in 2025, the Tour de France third is suddenly in the focus of the cycling world.
The preparation was professional and deliberately secluded. For three weeks, Lipowitz worked on his form at the altitude training camp on Tenerife, racked up kilometers on the Canary Islands roads and sought balance with his teammates outside of training. The foundation for the new year has been laid, but the lightness of the surprise star has given way to new demands.
“The expectations are of course extremely high,” said Lipowitz in the podcast “Ulle & Rick” by Jan Ullrich and Rick Zabel: “Personally, I try to lower them a bit.” An understandable reaction to a season that will be difficult to top this year and given the seemingly overwhelming competition.
Third place in the Tour de France 2025, the white jersey of the best young professional as well as podium finishes at Paris–Nice and the Critérium du Dauphiné made last season a sensational year for Lipowitz.
Together with Evenepoel against Tour dominator Pogacar
Confirming these achievements will now be a huge challenge, as the Laichinger native himself knows: “I would be happy if I could build on last year’s achievements. But things don’t go up every year,” warned Lipowitz and added: “There will also be a year in which things don’t go so well.” Words that show how thoughtfully the 25-year-old deals with the sudden expectations placed on him.
Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe also urges patience. Team boss Ralph Denk knows about the significantly increased fall height for his protégé. Last season was almost perfect, “to repeat that is not easy.” Nevertheless, Denk supports Germany’s cycling hopes: “I want to give him this security. I believe his great years are still to come.”
Whether 2026 is already part of this will become clear in July at the latest. At the Tour de France, Lipowitz will form a double leadership team with Remco Evenepoel and challenge defending champion Tadej Pogacar. Before that, tasks in the Algarve, Catalonia and French-speaking Switzerland are on the agenda – races in which Lipowitz wants to “at least be in a position” to “drive for the podium”.
