The German cycling star Florian Lipowitz confirmed his good early form at the start of the Tour de Romandie in the first duel of the season with dominator Tadej Pogacar. The 25-year-old took tenth place after 3.2 kilometers in the short time trial in Villars-sur-Glâne.
Lipowitz lost only three seconds to the four-time Tour de France winner from Slovenia, who came sixth in the prologue of his first Tour of French-speaking Switzerland. Lipowitz was two seconds behind his Slovenian Red Bull teammate Primoz Roglic. Dorian Godon took the victory; the Frenchman had already set the fastest time early on.
In the coming days there are five difficult stages on the program in Switzerland, with a total of more than 14,000 meters of altitude to overcome. For Pogacar, it is the first tour of the year after the classic season. The 27-year-old is the top favorite for overall victory.
Lipowitz before the tour: “I think the form is there”
Lipowitz comes to French-speaking Switzerland with a lot of momentum after a convincing performance at the Tour of the Basque Country. “Second place in the Basque Country gave me a lot of self-confidence. The week after that wasn’t completely structured, but I think the form is there. Now we’ll see what’s possible in Switzerland.”said the third-place finisher in the 2025 tour, who had already attracted attention as third overall at the Tour of Catalonia at the end of March.
Lipowitz’s teammate Remco Evenepoel is not taking part in the Tour de Romandie.
