After Remco Evenepoel, it’s the opposite personality Florian Lipowitz’s turn: “I’m not made for the media”

A proud team boss Ralph Denk kicked off Red Bull–BORA–hansgrohe’s media day with an announcement. “It’s not just news — it’s big news. Despite all the rumours, Florian will stay with us for the coming years,” said the German, who in doing so kept his compatriot out of the hands of interested teams such as Lidl-Trek.

Born in Baden-Württemberg, Lipowitz moved to Stams in Austria at the age of 13 with his brother Philipp, aiming for a professional biathlon career. While Philipp is still a pro biathlete, Osgood-Schlatter meant Florian had to do a lot of cycling too, to reduce the strain on his knees.

At 20, Lipowitz — bolder in actions than in words — rode his bike from Stams to meet Denk for the first time, a trip of roughly 100 kilometres. “I’ll never forget our first meeting,” the team boss laughs. “Florian asked me: what do I need to do as a biathlete to become a good professional cyclist?”

“At the end I asked how he was going to get back to the boarding school on that rather cold winter night,” Denk continues. “He just smiled and jumped back on the bike. I immediately thought: this kid is serious.” Denk then found Lipowitz a place at Austrian continental team Tirol-KTM, before bringing him into his own WorldTour set-up in 2023.

And Lipowitz made an impact straight away. “In his first race for us — the Vuelta a San Juan in 2023 — I got a call from sports director Bernie Eisel: ‘What the f*ck is this guy?’” Denk recalls. “He rode on the front alone all day and didn’t even let the normal breakaway riders go. That’s when we realised he was a special talent.”

In the three years since turning pro, the trajectory of the shy German has only continued upwards. In 2023 he won the Tour of Czechia, then in 2024 he announced himself at WorldTour level with a podium at the Tour de Romandie. Later that year he finished seventh at the Vuelta a España, before truly breaking through in 2025 with podiums at Paris–Nice, the Critérium du Dauphiné, and of course the Tour de France.

And that success brings attention — especially in Germany. We saw it ourselves in Essen, where the Deutschland Tour started three weeks after the Tour, and there was a full-blown Lipowitz hype, masks and all. “Expectations will grow, and that means more media requests,” new signing Remco Evenepoel — speaking from experience in Belgium — told him on Mallorca.

Lipowitz is pleased that the double Olympic champion has been brought on board by Denk and the team. “We’re quite different,” he says. “I’m not really someone who’s made for the media, so in that sense it’s also nice that Remco is here. Last year it was the same with Primož Roglič. It means I can focus a bit more on myself, and in the end that’s better for our performances together.” Evenepoel sees it the same way.

“Florian and I are different, but that’s exactly why two different types can work well together in that respect,” said the Belgian. Evenepoel pointed to the 2023 Tour de France as an example — the edition in which Jumbo-Visma managed to crack Tadej Pogačar on the Col du Granon. “Two strong riders, against someone who’s alone — but incredibly strong,” he explained. “Tadej will have improved too, but that example of Jonas Vingegaard and Primož shows how it should be done.”

“That’s the game we need to try to play, and I think with two you’re always stronger than alone,” Lipowitz nods. “We’ll ride together in Catalunya as well, so that’s a nice benchmark to see how things are going. I’m looking forward to racing with Remco.” The German has circled the Tour de Romandie and Volta a Catalunya as key races before the Tour, and will restart his season in Algarve.

On Mallorca, Lipowitz also played his part in Red Bull–BORA–hansgrohe’s winning team time trial train. “I often find the first week of a Grand Tour a bit harder, but in Barcelona I’ll need to be there immediately. That’s why it’s good we’ve already practised the team time trial once. But the Tour is always decided in the last week — and those are the stages that suit me well, with all the climbing.”