Red Bull fights back in the Tour: Lipowitz closes in on 'superstar' Evenepoel, Dumoulin praises Roglic
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Follow us on GoogleThey had a somewhat anonymous start in the first week, but Florian Lipowitz and Primoz Roglic are now making their mark in the Pyrenees. The 24-year-old German was already the best of the rest in stage 12 on Thursday and followed that up on Friday with an excellent climbing time trial. Teammate Roglic was even better, claiming third place in the stage for Lipowitz, behind Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard and ahead of Remco Evenepoel.
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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.”
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Lipowitz eager to challenge Evenepoel
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.”
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Dumoulin saw Roglic pushing hard in his time trial position
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.)."
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Bram van der PloegEditor-in-chief
Bram van der Ploeg (35) is the proud founder of In de Leiderstrui, IDL Pro Cycling's parent site, launched in 2018. Finally, he could create stories about the sport he had followed since childhood. He is the editor-in-chief on paper, but prefers to be with his recorder next to a rider, a team bus, or in the mud at a cyclocross race. Every year, from February to the end of May, Bram follows the entire Italian cycling season, from the Trofeo Laigueglia to the Giro d'Italia, with the grand finale in October in Lombardy. During that time, he lives in Tuscany, where he has since come to call Italy his 'home'.
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Latest Comments
- If he finished ninth at the Tour, why didn’t he get a stage win too? I’m still trying to understand how the overall standings work.julien11-11-2026
- I like the honesty of that training post. Even the best riders feel the difference after a few weeks off, and he’s got plenty of time to build back up.samanthak11-11-2026
- Fifth in the world rankings after that autumn run is some achievement. Pidcock was so aggressive at the Tour, too—hopefully he can turn a few of those near-misses into wins inpatriciaw11-11-2026
- Does XEFI’s investment mean the team will have more money to sign riders, or is it mainly a sponsorship and naming change? And is Roglič expected to race much next season?jeremya11-11-2026
- If the roster is nearly complete, why bring up Roglič at all? Feels like the article is turning a firm “no” into a transfer rumour.andrewf11-11-2026
- Wuling is no joke—105 km of climbing to 3,275 metres is brutal. Five minutes off Dyball’s record is still an incredible ride.velodromevirtuoso111-11-2026
- Roglič at TotalEnergies would be a fascinating move, but Heulot sounds pretty clear that it isn’t happening. His experience could be a massive boost for the younger riders, though.jennifer1911-11-2026
- Eight riders told to go for stages, and nobody gets one—hard to know what the plan was there. It’ll be interesting to see whether they pick a clear leader next time.bikebuffj10-11-2026
- Was Bernal’s 20th place really their best GC result? I thought he might have finished higher. Either way, it sounds like a rough Tour for the whole team.gearguru3310-11-2026
- Five days in breaks with no stage win is a painful stat. The team had chances, but they need to turn those opportunities into results.julien10-11-2026