Florian Lipowitz moves into White, but Bora ends first week of Vuelta with mixed feelings: "We hoped that he would be a little bit better today"

Mixed feelings day at Vuelta a Espana for Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe, however the team's youngest Florian Lipowitz can be more than happy about his own performance that puts him in the lead of Youth classification.

"The goal was to ride for Primoz today. I think I did a good job. I was pulling on the last climb and I didn’t expect that all the other [rivals for the best young rider standings] would drop but now I’m in the white jersey and I’m happy," were the first impressions of the German rider.

He seemed ready to leave it all on the road for team leader Primoz Roglic, however when the pace went up the second time Alto de Hazallanas, the Slovenian couldn't even hold the wheel of his teammate. Lipowitz believes that was merely a momentary weakness. Eventually though, they were able to save the situation. "Luckily we have a rest tomorrow and then we have to start again. I didn’t talk to Primoz so far..."

However it was a scary moment for Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe as Enric Mas was able to quite easily build a minute advantage to Roglic on the climb itself. Certainly a threat for next weeks. "We hoped that he would be a little bit better today but we stayed with the GC riders, so it’s all fine. It’s still two weeks to go."

Florian Lipowitz is only in his second Grand Tour at the moment, but it's a strong debut with a lead in the White jersey competition, 31 seconds ahead of Carlos Rodríguez. "I didn’t expect to ride for the white jersey but the preparation went super well. Also, from the Giro, I know that I have the legs to ride with the best guys and I’m happy to be here with a good shape. We’ll see what will come in the next weeks."