Lipowitz gets the Pogacar selfie and the podium; Onley breaks through in this Tour: "It has sparked a dream"

Lipowitz was undoubtedly expected to achieve great things. The 24-year-old German from Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe made his Tour debut, but had already finished seventh in last year's Vuelta a España. This season, he finished behind Pogacar and Vingegaard on the podium in the Critérium du Dauphiné. When Remco Evenepoel dropped out, Lipowitz took third place and the white youth jersey, which he held onto until Paris.

“It was a tough three weeks. I just wanted to get to the finish line safely,” said Lipowitz, who attacked briefly in Paris but then rode calmly to the finish. “Overall, there were many ups and downs, and the start wasn't ideal. But we grew closer and closer as a team. Because in the end, a result like this isn't just down to me, it's a team effort. That's why I want to say thank you to everyone again. We're riding through France for three weeks, but there's a lot more to it than that in terms of preparation. That's why I'm just happy that everything worked out so well and we can celebrate third place.”

Team boss Ralph Denk agreed with this sentiment via the official channels. He watched with pride as Lipowitz stood on the podium and took his selfie with Pogacar. “Standing here in Paris with this result is a great moment for Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe, but also for me personally. Florian has achieved the best result in the team's history at the Tour de France, also winning the white jersey for the first time. I am proud of how we and our partners have presented ourselves here. We have now been invited by them, and they are giving us a huge welcome. The first Tour podium is another step on the way to eventually winning the yellow jersey.”

Read more below the photo.

There was no podium place or award for Onley in his Tour de France, but the 22-year-old British rider put himself on the map as a top talent on behalf of Picnic PostNL. From day 1 to the last mountain stage, he was among the best and only just fell short of beating Lipowitz. “On the final climb of Montmartre, I was able to soak it all in and look around a bit, which was quite special. And then riding down the Champs Elysees… that was amazing,” he recalled in Paris.

“It’s been a really special three weeks with the whole team. This is a huge moment in my career. I don’t think it’s fully sunk in yet, but just from what other guys in the bunch have said to me, I realise this is something to build on, a big step for the future. It’s definitely sparked a big dream. To be honest, I had never even considered finishing top five in the Tour. So to do it in my first go at the GC, that’s pretty incredible.”