'No pressure, just enjoy' - Lipowitz eyes debut Tour podium

Florian Lipowitz's (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) prominent rise in the sport continues to gather pace, as the 24-year-old German currently occupies the third spot on the podium, behind Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) and Jonas Vingegaard (Visma | Lease a Bike) in his Tour de France debut.

Lipowitz's performances over the three stages in the Pyrenees proved that he is a bona fide contender for the podium, and with Remco Evenepoel abandoning the race on stage 14, the German is currently the man to beat for the third spot on the podium, holding 1:25 over Oscar Onley (Picnic PostNL) in 4th with his teammate Primoź Roglič (Red-Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) 2:41 behind his young teammate in 6th. 

In his rest day press conference on Monday, Lipowitz revealed his surprise at finding himself on the podium after two weeks of racing.

“For sure, when I came here, I was never thinking about racing for the GC, also being up there," Lipowitz explained to reporters at the press conference. "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.”

Whilst there were rumblings that Lipowitz should at the very least be co-leader alongside his decorated teammate Primož Roglič (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe), the German remained consistent at the start of the race that he was arriving at the Tour with the ambition to help his Slovenian teammate. However, with his excellent performances, he has had to adapt to a leadership role, which he is still trying to get the hang of.

“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," said Lipowitz.

The German was also asked he he plans to continue his fight for the podium, and Lipowitz mentioned the importance of having Roglič highly placed in the GC alongside him

“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," he said.

"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," added Lipowitz.

When asked about his remarkable improvement this season, Lipowitz pointed to consistent health as a key factor.

“Yeah, to be honest, when I joined the team, I did every year big steps forward and also this year I think with the preparation, everything went really well," said Lipowitz.

"I was not as sick that much than in the past years, so I think that’s also a big part this year as I got more hours of training and just stayed healthy for quite some weeks, and that’s also why this season is quite good so far," he explained. 

Lipowitz had already shown his grand tour potential before the start of the season, when he finished 7th in the general classification, alongside helping Roglič win the general classification in the Vuelta a España in 2024. 

However, although Lipowitz revealed that his experience in the Spanish grand tour provided some confidence, he suggested that the Tour de France is a whole other ball game.

"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."

One of the men who was a major contender to Lipowitz in the fight for the podium was Remco Evenepoel, who occupied the third spot that Lipowitz currently holds, on the morning of his abandon on stage 14, and the German was asked if he noticed any weaknesses in the Belgian before his Pyrenean collapse. 

“No, he showed that he was in really good shape, and it’s always sad that someone like him has to leave the Tour," said Lipowitz.

"He’s two-time Olympic champion and world champion, so I don’t think he needs to prove himself to anyone. Also, that big [pre-season] 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.”

Despite his lofty position, Lipowitz maintains a realistic and modest view when comparing himself to race leader Tadej Pogačar.

"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," explained Lipowitz.

When asked about comparisons to Julian Alaphilippe's (Tudor) attacking style, Lipowitz humbly was quick to deflect, "He is one of the best riders, a world champion, I don't want to compare myself to him, to be honest."