Stage winner Romeo in disbelief after victory and yellow jersey, fellow escapee Lipowitz had different plans but still gains time

And of course, it only worked out for one of them: Ivan Romeo. The Spaniard launched a solo attack deep into the finale and managed to cross the finish line alone. “I still can’t believe it, I don’t know what to say,” were Romeo’s first words in the flash interview. “In a finish like this, I know I have to pick the right moment. I’m able to hold my effort if I go all in. I had a gap and thought: I have to go all-out to the line now.”

The Movistar rider had nefarious plans for this stage for a while. “I had marked this stage in red a month ago. The team gave me the confidence and the opportunity to go for the win today. Again, I can’t believe it. I’m also in the yellow jersey now. Phew… I don’t know what to say. I work super hard and I’m so grateful for this chance and the trust I’ve been given. Hard work really does pay off. This win is for my team, my coach, and my family.”

The just 21-year-old rider thus claimed his first victory at WorldTour level: “It was really one of the hardest days I’ve had on the bike. Just getting into the breakaway was tough, and I wasn’t having my best day either. So I had to save my energy and wait for the right moment.” On Wednesday, the reigning U23 world time trial champion will take on the time trial wearing the yellow jersey. A 17.4-kilometer individual time trial is on the schedule. “I love time trials, so I’m definitely going for it tomorrow. The yellow jersey will give me wings.”

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As an outsider for the general classification, Florian Lipowitz had a very successful day. The German rider from RedBull–BORA–hansgrohe made it into the day’s breakaway and stayed in the fight for the stage win until the end. “The plan was actually for Maxime (Van Gils, ed.) to be in the break, because he really wanted to go for the stage. But suddenly I found myself up front. The group was really big and everyone was riding for the win. I’m glad it worked out.”

Because the 24-year-old was part of the early breakaway, the group was given little freedom by the peloton, where the GC teams were keeping things in check. Earlier this year, Lipowitz finished second overall in Paris–Nice and fourth in the Tour of the Basque Country. “I’m not really focusing on them,” Lipowitz said when asked whether he’s thinking about the big GC favorites. “They’re on another level,” he added, referring to riders like Evenepoel, Pogacar, and Vingegaard. “My goal here is to finish in the top ten.”

Despite his general classification ambitions, the young rider truly wanted to go for the stage win. “I had good legs and tried to follow the right move. Of course I’m thinking about the GC too, but when you’re in a breakaway like that, you also have to dare to go for the win. It feels good to already have a gap on my rivals.” Thanks to the stage, Lipowitz gains 54 seconds on the peloton and now leads Pogacar by 42 seconds.

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Behind Romeo, Lipowitz battled with two other riders for the remaining podium spots. While Lipowitz ultimately had to settle for fourth, Louis Barré finished just ahead of him. “I’m proud to be fighting for the stage win in such a prestigious race and to wear the white jersey,” said the 25-year-old Frenchman in a press release. “On the first climb I attacked a first time, after about ten kilometers of racing, but got caught by the peloton. I tried again during the intermediate sprint, and my persistence paid off, several riders joined me shortly after. The beginning of the stage was intense; it took nearly an hour for the day’s breakaway to form.”

The Intermarché–Wanty rider felt that they had a solid chance of staying away. “I was surrounded by strong riders, so we had a real shot at making it to the finish. But since we never got a significant gap, we weren’t sure if we’d be racing for the win. That’s why we kept a high pace all day. In the final hour, I was completely drained, partly because of the heat. In the tactical finale, I took the risk to wait until the last two kilometers to launch an attack. That turned out to be the right move, when I accelerated, Tejada, Lipowitz, and I managed to create a gap and sprint for the podium.”  

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His name has been mentioned. Harold Tejada was the third rider chasing Ivan Romeo. The Colombian won the sprint of the trio to finish second overall. “Not a bad day for us,” concluded the XDS–Astana rider on his team’s website. “Today we wanted to attack early and get into the break. That was the plan, though normally one of my teammates would have gone in the move. But we ended up in a tricky situation during the breakaway, so in the end I attacked and made it to the finish. We’re happy with today’s result.”

The 28-year-old climber now moves up to third in the general classification. “Tomorrow is a time trial, so we’re going to take another look at it today and try to set a good time. We’re continuing to collect important points, and the most important thing is that we enjoy the process,” Tejada said after the stage.