Lipowitz confirmed as leader at Red Bull: "I have to get used to it"

Van Poppel spoke to NOS before the start of the fifteenth stage, just after the tough triptych in the Pyrenees. “The vibe is good, we’re on the right track.” A day earlier, his German teammate had taken third place. Where does that road lead? “To the Tour podium. Lipowitz is third, and he was already closing in, but now that Remco is out, it’s logical that he’s third.”

With Roglic just outside the top five, Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe has two cards to play. “Who knows, we might be able to play them as a wild card. It's looking good,” said the Dutch champion, who now sees Lipowitz as the team leader. “I have to be honest about that. I think he can do it. If you look at how strong he was yesterday, it was quite a difference compared to Primoz. It's all a bit new to him, but he's doing really well.”

It is the German climber's first Tour de France, so the question is whether he can keep up with the French riders. But Van Poppel has no doubts: this is not his first Grand Tour. “Last year in the Vuelta, he also rode well in the third week, so you can get a good idea of how he's evolving,” explains the sprinter. "With good support, I think he can finish on the podium."

Van Poppel was normally the lead-out man for Jordi Meeus, but he is having to do more and more work for the climbers. “It's the kind of support you don't see, of course,” he laughs. “Yesterday, he (Lipowitz, ed.) had to take a quick pee before the intermediate sprint. I had trouble bringing him back. He apologized for that, but it's great to work for someone high in the GC.”

Mick van Dijke is also involved with the German team's GC contenders. The Dutchman is riding his first Tour. "I knew Lipowitz was very strong, but to be able to show that in the Tour de France is something else," he told Omroep Zeeland. “He was even able to keep up with Jonas Vingegaard's attack a few times, which looks promising. We also hope to get Primoz Roglic into the top five.”

In the fifteenth stage, Tim van Dijke's twin brother was involved in the crash along with his German team leader. It was a bit of a scare. “I did everything I could to get him back on his bike as quickly as possible. I had to pull the bikes and people off him and put his chain back on. It was quite nerve-racking because at that point the peloton was going more than 60 kilometers per hour, so if you're not back on your bike quickly, you're soon far behind.”

Lipowitz is still a little overwhelmed by the whole situation. He never dared to dream of a third place in the GC. “For sure, when I came here, I was never thinking about racing for the GC, also being up there,” he tells Domestique. “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.”

The white jersey wearer can finally call himself leader, but that's still a little scary. “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.” In the GC, he is currently more than 2.30 minutes ahead of teammate Roglic. But he still sees his experienced teammate as a co-leader.

Roglic has already experience, while Lipowitz is just getting a taste of the GC battle. That's why the German likes to look to his teammate, from whom he expects a lot in the final week. “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.”