Florian Lipowitz: From Biathlon to the Tour – Ralph Denk on discovering Germany’s great GC hope

Florian Lipowitz is seen as Germany’s great hope at the 2025 Tour de France – and the story of how he found his way into professional cycling is anything but ordinary. On the Sportschau Tourfunk podcast, Ralph Denk, team manager of Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe, offered fascinating insight into how the young talent was discovered and how a biathlete became a pro cyclist.

“It’s a lovely story,” Denk begins, recalling his first contact with Lipowitz back in 2020. “The phone rang, my assistant put the call through: ‘There’s someone on the line who wants to become a professional cyclist – he’s currently a biathlete.’ I thought, ‘Okay, put him through, I’ll hear what he has to say.’ And it turned out to be a really inspiring conversation.”

Just a few days later, Denk invited the then-teenager out for lunch. “It was January, and he showed up in full cycling gear. When I asked him where he’d come from, he said, ‘From school.’ I knew his school was more than 100 kilometres away. I said, ‘Respect.’ That was the first sign for me.”

That meeting quickly became a pivotal moment for Denk. “We had a good chat and came up with a plan. I told him he couldn’t turn pro straight away – he was already too old for the U19 ranks – but I’d think of something.” After around two hours of conversation, Lipowitz asked, “Is there somewhere I can get changed? I want to get back into my cycling kit and ride home.” And so he set off again – more than 100 kilometres on the bike."

“That was a clear indicator for me,” Denk explains. “Wanting something is one thing. Talent is another. But when you see that kind of determination, it already tells you a lot.”

Recognising that commitment, Denk arranged for Lipowitz to join the Tirol KTM Cycling Team, where he gained his first experience in smaller professional races. “Then he came back to us, and his journey continued,” says Denk.

Today, Denk describes the 24-year-old’s career as a true passion project: “It always feels different when someone you’ve helped from the very beginning makes it, compared to spending a lot of money to sign someone like Peter Sagan. Don’t get me wrong – those moments are fantastic too, and I cherish the memories of Sagan winning for us. But when a rider you’ve brought through your own project becomes a pro – like Emanuel Buchmann or Pascal Ackermann – those are special, emotional moments on a whole other level.”