Florian Lipowitz has delivered every evidence of being one of the world’s best stage-racers, and may achieve a career-best result as he enters the final week of the 2025 Tour de France in the podium alongside Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard.
The German climbed to this position with strong performances on the three Pyrenean stages and also the withdrawal of Remco Evenepoel from the race. “He’s two-time Olympic champion and world champion, so I don’t think he needs to prove himself to anyone. Also, that big crash he had, coming back strong, he won a stage here, so I think anyway, he can be super proud, and for sure he will come back strong,” Lipowitz said in a press conference this Monday.
But Lipowitz, despite joining great champions on the podium and wearing the white jersey, doesn’t dare compare himself with the yellow jersey: “I think I’m far from him, I think even on a bad day, he is better than me on a good one. I don’t want to put too much pressure on myself, so I just want to enjoy racing here, and that’s also the goal when I came here”.
Alongside Primoz Roglic, the two Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe leaders have been putting on a consistent and strong set of performances in this Tour. “Now we have Primoz and me quite good in the GC, and I think fighting for the third place, we will try our best, if I can show the legs in the third week the same as this week, I always just try my best. I’m more the guy who tries something, attacking if I can, I think Primoz showed in the past years that he is always super strong in the third week and he knows how to manage three weeks of racing, so I think we have quite good cards on that, but for sure it will be a big fight”.
Despite having finished on the podium of the Dauphiné, facing virtually the same field as the current Tour and with similar decisive stages, the Germans says he didn’t expect to be in this position or to even be fighting for the top positions in the overall classification.
“For sure, when I came here, I was never thinking about racing for the GC, also being up there. I knew after Dauphiné I’m in good shape, and if I can show the legs I’ve had there in the Tour, I can do something really good, so for sure, I’m super happy and also a big surprise for me. For me, it’s something pretty new. I knew I had to just go through it. I tried my best so far, and I hope I’m doing well so far. For sure, I think I have to get used to it”.
Still, it is a confirmation of the work that has been done throughout the past few years. After having a breakthrough at the 2024 Tour de Romandie with an unexpected win on the summit finish, his rise through the peloton has been stratospheric.
“Last year, with the Vuelta, I was super happy also that I proved myself that I can race three weeks, but I think the Tour is something different. Also, it’s a lot more stress, not just on the bike, but also off the bike, but for sure it gives me some confidence in my body, but we will see perhaps tomorrow what will happen,” he concluded.