Carapaz snags victory, but sensational Lipowitz might have been the stronger contender in Romandie: "Never expected this"

This Saturday, Richard Carapaz won the fourth stage in the Tour of Romandie, with Carlos Rodriguez taking over the leader's jersey from Juan Ayuso. The two top talents clashed on the final climb in Switzerland. Amidst all this excitement, it is easy to overlook that the day's runner-up might have actually been the strongest of all. Florian Lipowitz of BORA-hansgrohe was somewhat at a loss for words while speaking to Eurosport after the race.

Lipowitz had already performed well in a time trial the day before and started the day ranked sixth in the standings, three places behind his team leader Aleksandr Vlasov, who inadvertently played a key role in the day's results. When Carapaz broke away from a group including Lipowitz and Rodriguez on the final climb, the 23-year-old German mainly looked back. Vlasov was coming up, but the Russian couldn't quite bridge the gap.

For that reason, Lipowitz launched a powerful attack past Rodriguez as the finish line came into view. He quickly reached Carapaz's wheel, but his effort came just too late to surpass Carapaz and claim the stage win. The climber — who started out as a biathlete as a child and has only been cycling since 2019 — was certainly not disappointed with the outcome. "I never expected to be able to keep up with the best guys on the climb here. I knew from the start that I had good legs and I am super happy with today."

Carapaz attacked because of Lipowitz

Carapaz probably didn't mind that he might not have been the strongest. He was the smartest, as the EF climber attacked when Rodriguez was leading the group for his classification. And Lipowitz couldn't keep up for a while. "I took advantage of the work of INEOS, who made the stage really tough. I launched an attack that I could sustain until the finish," the day's winner commented after the race.

Carapaz's attack was even prompted by the very presence of Lipowitz. "We knew that he was the fastest of the three of us and that we had to try from a distance. For me, it came in handy that I knew this stage well." Or as team director Charly Wegelius says in a press release from the team: "Richie's been knocking on the door for a while now. We knew that he was good, but he just had to keep going at it. I think he did a great job. To be around a rider of his level is motivating for the whole group. Everybody put a lot of work into the stage, supporting him, and to see him finish it off is just great energy for the whole group."