Lipowitz expects Seixas to make life hard for Pogacar and Vingegaard at Tour de France

After finishing second at both the Itzulia Basque Country and the Tour de Romandie, the 25-year-old has moved firmly into the wider group of Grand Tour contenders. Now, high in the Sierra Nevada, he is preparing for the race that changed his career.

Last year, Lipowitz was the best of the rest behind Tadej Pogačar and Jonas Vingegaard, finishing exactly 11 minutes down. It confirmed his credentials after he had already shown his potential a year earlier with seventh place at the Vuelta a España.

This year, he knows things will feel different.

“The whole spring gave me confidence,” Lipowitz told Eurosport. “After last year’s Tour de France, I struggled a little. Until Catalunya, it was a long time and I had a lot of thoughts beforehand. Luckily, things got better from race to race.”

His performance at the Tour de Romandie was one of the clearest signs that Lipowitz is ready to step up again. On the final climb, he even attacked Tadej Pogačar, the rider many still see as the benchmark in modern cycling.

Yet Lipowitz is careful not to read too much into that specific moment.

“Ending the first big race block with Romandie was a nice experience and gave me a lot of confidence for the Tour preparation,” he said. “But Pogačar mainly rode one day races before the Ardennes Classics, so I expect a different Pogačar at the Tour.”

That realism runs through much of Lipowitz’s thinking. Asked where he sees himself in a potential battle with Pogačar and Jonas Vingegaard, he refused to frame the Tour as a three way contest.

“I would not describe it as a three way battle, because there are many riders who have a chance of making the podium,” he said.

Vingegaard, in particular, has impressed him. The Dane has been dominant at the Giro d’Italia, and Lipowitz believes he remains ahead of the rest of the field with Pogačar.

“Jonas is riding incredibly strongly and has developed further again at the Giro d’Italia,” Lipowitz said. “It depends on how tired he is coming out of the Giro. Even so, he is still two steps ahead of everyone else.”

From that perspective, he expects another battle between the two rivals, with the rest of the field fighting for the final spot on the podium in Paris.

“A lot can happen in three weeks of the Tour de France, and first you have to get through it without crashing,” he said. “That is why I think the race is open for third place. Beating Pogačar or Vingegaard is obviously extremely difficult.”

One rider he expects to feature prominently is Paul Seixas, who has made a major impression this season.

“I think Paul Seixas will definitely make life hard for them,” Lipowitz said. “He has ridden very strongly this year, and the step he has taken compared with last year has been immense. He will be a difficult opponent for both [Pogačar and Vingegaard] of them.”

Lipowitz will not carry the Red Bull pressure alone. His team is expected to start the Tour with a powerful dual leadership structure alongside Remco Evenepoel which could become one of the most compelling storylines of the race. 

“Remco is a very strong cyclist, one of the best there is right now,” Lipowitz said. “He has won the Vuelta. He was third in the Tour, so he can also ride for three weeks and handle long climbs. I hope that we can both benefit from each other and have more cards to play.”

Before Lipowitz lines up for the Grand Départ in Barcelona, he will take part in the Tour of Slovenia. He was originally scheduled to race the Critérium du Dauphiné, but Red Bull later changed his programme.