Lipowitz impresses, but Roglic stands out again with statements: "Didn't feel like going much harder"

Lipowitz tried to break away in the final kilometers. After the peloton hesitated for a moment, it looked promising, but he was caught just before the finish line. “I really wanted to try,” the German told ARD. “To be honest, I didn't feel my best at the start of the Tour. I think I need another two or three days, but I'm glad I was part of this group. I tried, but unfortunately, it didn't work out. I had a lot of lactic acid in my legs, and I'm glad I made it to the finish.”

Despite his fantastic performance in the Critérium du Dauphiné, Lipowitz has to work for lead rider Roglic. That makes his performance on Sunday all the more impressive because when the peloton split on the penultimate climb, the Slovenian was not at the front. Lipowitz then personally hauled his leader to the front of the race. With 6 kilometers to go, they joined the group, and less than 4 kilometers later, the German took off on his own.

Roglic had every reason to thank his super-domestique. Last year's Vuelta winner was already very nonchalant about his ambitions before the Tour, and after the finish, it was business as usual. "As you said, it's tough. I didn't feel like going much harder," Roglic told the Slovenian media. "We lost some time on Saturday, but this time we were there. The guys did their best, and Lipo (Florian Lipowitz, ed.) is strong; hats off to him."

On the first day, Roglic lost 39 seconds, but his 22nd place in the stage to Boulogne-sur-Mer meant that he is closing in on the top 20 in the GC, 49 seconds behind yellow jersey wearer Mathieu van der Poel. With Wednesday's time trial coming up, that's not a bad position. That's why he's not giving up after losing time on day 1. “The whole team was good. We remain positive. We lost on the first day, but this time, we didn't miss the action.”