Red Bull fights back in the Tour: Lipowitz closes in on 'superstar' Evenepoel, Dumoulin praises Roglic

Lipowitz made a big impression in the twelfth stage, pulling away from everyone else on Hautacam, behind the duel between Pogacar and Vingegaard. The climber, who also finished third behind the duo in the Critérium du Dauphiné, finished fourth a day later in Peyragudes and is now fourth after thirteen days, six seconds behind the once again disappointing Evenepoel.

“I went for it,” Lipowitz said immediately after his time trial to Eurosport, among others. “The last 2 kilometers were super tough, I had so much lactic acid in my legs. The last 50 meters seemed to take forever, but I'm pleased with my day. I gave everything until the finish and think I did well. I didn't have my best legs, but after yesterday, I couldn't be more satisfied.”

Read more below the photo.

The battle for third place in the Tour de France promises to be extremely exciting. Evenepoel is defending a 6-second lead, but number five Oscar Onley (Picnic PostNL) is only 41 seconds behind Lipowitz. Thanks to an excellent time trial, Roglic is now 1 minute and 20 seconds behind Evenepoel, who also wears the white jersey for the best young rider. Lipowitz and Onley are also in contention.

“Remco is a superstar. He is very strong and a fighter,” said the Red Bull talent, praising the world time trial champion. However, he suffered in the Pyrenees. “The focus is on Primoz and me, because Primoz is also close behind and showed today that he is in good shape. There are still a few very tough stages to come, and we will tackle them one day at a time. We are both in the GC, which gives us opportunities. Remco is powerful and a fighter.”

Read more below the photo.

Roglic is therefore a little further ahead than Lipowitz, but the experienced Slovenian was the best in Friday's time trial after Pogacar and Vingegaard. Time trial specialist Tom Dumoulin enjoyed watching his former teammate on NOS. "Roglic was one of the few riders to ride the entire climb in time trial position, except for the last section. He can deliver the same power on his time trial bike as on a road bike, even in that position and while climbing. It's great that he's showing that, because he seemed to have lost some hope yesterday (Thursday, ed.)."