The skier who has snuck onto the podium of the Tour, who is Florian Lipowitz?

If we talk to you about a cyclist with a background in skiing, a member of Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe, surely most of you will think of Primoz Roglic. However, in this Tour de France, a young German has stolen the spotlight from the Slovenian, who at the moment seems to challenge him for leadership.

Florian Lipowitz claims leadership of Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe in his first Tour

In 2018, Florian Lipowitz was one of the promising German biathletes, that winter sport that combines cross-country skiing and target shooting with a rifle. Today, 7 years later, enrolled in the ranks of Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe, he occupies third place in the general classification of the Tour de France 2025 with just 6 stages left to be disputed in his debut in the French race.

A dream that the German never even imagined since cycling was only a leisure activity for him. However, when he started winning some long-distance mountain bike races at the age of 18, he caught the attention of the U23 team Tirol-KTM, with whom he entered the competitive road cycling in 2020 until this 2025 where he has emerged as one of the best climbers of the next generation of cyclists that is beginning to emerge.

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At the moment, he only has three victories as a professional, one stage and the general classification of the 2023 Tour de Czech Republic and the general classification of the Sibiu Cycling Tour last year but, however, this year he has made that leap in quality that makes him a cyclist to be reckoned with thanks to his second place in the general classification of Paris-Nice or the podium behind Pogacar and Vingegaard that he achieved in the recently disputed Critérium du Dauphiné.

At the moment, after the abandonment of Remco Evenepoel, he has become, in addition to the third cyclist in the general classification of the Tour de France, the wearer of the white jersey that recognizes the best young rider of the race, a classification in which, like defending his position in the general classification, he will have to maintain a tough fight against Oscar Onley and Kevin Vauquelin.

A Florian Lipowitz who has received praise from the leader of Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe for this race, a Primoz Roglic who has stated that he will not hesitate to help the young German achieve his goals despite maintaining a good position as provisional 6th.

In any case, both he and his directors are approaching the third week with caution since, although it is not his first participation in a three-week race, after last year's Giro d'Italia where he could not finish the race and La Vuelta where he finished in 7th place, the Tour de France, due to its pace and demands, is a completely different race and it is not uncommon for newcomers to find the last week, especially with the toughness of the Alpine stages, to become a torment. What no one can take away from him is the recognition of being called to be one of the great contenders in the coming years, following in the footsteps of his teammate Primoz Roglic.