From biathlon to cycling, German Florian Lipowitz impresses and becomes the third man in the struggle of the general classification

The German runner of the Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe seized, on Saturday, of the third place in the general classification and the white jersey after the 14th stage of the Tour de France.

He is still an almost unknown in the eyes of the general public, and his name was barely chanted by the crowd in Pau, who did not recognize him yet, Saturday July 19 morning during the Podium Signature. Perhaps by wearing the best young white jersey after the 14th stage, after the abandonment of Remco Evenepoel, the German Florian Lipowitz will more attract public attention. Third in the general classification, he comes in any case to confirm his good results of Paris-Nice (2nd) and Dauphiné (3rd).

Even before the start of the Tour de France, its director, Christian Prudhomme, already imagined Florian Lipowitz as possible “Third man” In the general classification, behind the Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard rockets. The boss of the big loop was obviously well aware of the podium succeeded by the young German (24 years old) on the Dauphiné, where he had already been greater than Remco Evenepoel. However, the runner of the Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe discovers the Tour de France this year, he who did not put cycling until 2020.

Before getting on the bike, Florian Lipowitz was pretty good at a career on skis and behind the rifle, in biathlon. He had also been the national champion of under 16 years in the discipline. And it is finally because – or thanks – to a knee injury, in 2019, that the German turned to the bicycle. “At that time, I could only bike to train, he said on the site Direct bike In 2021. Gradually, I have done more and more. Subsequently, I had some contacts, notably with Dan Lorarag, the director of performance of the Bora-Hansgrohe team. He made me pass tests on the bicycle. Tirol KTM Cycling Team then offered me the opportunity to run with them. I then had to choose which direction I was going to head. I told myself that I could try cycling in competition “.

The young athlete still had predispositions. “At 16, with my parents, we drove from Geneva to Nice on a bicycle, he recalls in the columns of The team. 800 kilometers to discover the alpine passes, whole days on the bike without going too fast and my body was holding without difficulty. Then I made cycling marathon, type Gran Fondo, it sometimes lasted eight hours and I was punctured after four hours, it was a battle to go to the end … But sometimes I won, I don't know how. I had the engine to hold “.

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Within his first team, the former biathlete ranks fifth on the Tour du Val d'Aosta, and 14th on the Tour of the future. Results which opened the doors of the Bora-Hansgrohe training, from 2022, and the first participations in large towers in 2024, on the Giro and La Vuelta, with a seventh place in the general classification in Spain.

What necessarily feed ambitions on the Tour de France, even if its sports director Rolf Aldag saw him rather in support of the leader Primoz Roglic, with a “role that will have fun over the Tour de France “. Shy and introverted, the German himself just hoped to arrive in Paris, which would be “A success in itself”. But after the 14th stage, he appears in third position in the general classification, at 7'53 '' from the yellow jersey, while Primoz Roglic, a former ski jumping, is sixth to a little more than ten minutes.

“We did not expect him at this level before the tour, even if we knew that he was promising. Germany does not yet know him, the Germans are not passionate about bicycle, but they are passionate about their champions, so they will be interested in the bicycle thanks to him”said a German journalist crossed in Superbagnères, Franceinfo: Sport.

In the final climb, on Saturday, he was also the only one to follow Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogacar over a few hundred meters, which could give him confidence for the future, and develop the hierarchy in his team? “It is a dream that becomes reality to wear this white jersey, I came to the Tour by not thinking about that at all. With Primoz, we get along well, we're going to talk about it in peace, and we'll see what's going on in the days to come”he replied at the end of the stage. One thing is certain, the old biathlete now has the target in the back.