“He will certainly be the one to beat” - Florian Lipowitz sets Tour de France sights on Tadej Pogacar and backs “really strong” Red Bull partnership with Remco Evenepoel

Florian Lipowitz leaves the Tour of Slovenia with two stage wins, the overall title and fresh confidence before a far bigger test at the Tour de France.

The Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe rider ended his pre-Tour race block with back-to-back victories in Slovenia, first winning the queen stage on Vrsic and then attacking again on the final stage to Novo mesto.

After almost two years without a victory, Lipowitz now turns towards France with form, results and a reinforced place in Red Bull’s GC plans alongside Remco Evenepoel.

The next benchmark is clear. Tadej Pogacar is already in dominant form at the Tour de Suisse, Jonas Vingegaard remains central to the July picture, and Lipowitz, third at the 2025 Tour de France behind Pogacar and Vingegaard, expects another fierce three-week fight.

Lipowitz’s final-stage victory in Novo mesto gave him a second win in two days, following his queen-stage triumph in Kranjska Gora. After the finish, he said the result confirmed his preparation was moving in the right direction.

“From a confidence point of view, it is of course great that I won here,” Lipowitz said in conversation with Sportal. “We can be very happy with the progress in form. It is nice to see that the legs are okay. Then we will see what happens in those three weeks in France.”

Asked about Pogacar, Lipowitz pointed straight to the Slovenian’s form in Switzerland. “I think he is currently the best rider,” said Lipowitz. “With what he is showing again in Switzerland, he has proved that he is in really good form. He showed how strong he is, and he will definitely be the main favourite for the Tour. Then we will see how those three weeks in France unfold, but he will certainly be the one to beat. I think Jonas will also be super strong.”

That leaves Red Bull preparing for a Tour shaped around the same names at the top of the race, but with a different internal balance. Lipowitz now heads towards July with Slovenia in his legs, while Evenepoel gives the team another major GC card.

Lipowitz avoided making a bold prediction about how Red Bull can use that strength in France, but he made clear that the team’s depth could matter across three weeks.

“We simply have to wait and see how it develops,” he said. “In three weeks, a lot can happen. But I think we have a really strong team, especially with Remco and me.”

Evenepoel brings time-trial power and a different GC profile, while Lipowitz has ended his final race before the Tour with the kind of climbing and finishing form Red Bull wanted to see. Slovenia was a smaller stage race, but his final weekend there gave the team more than just a confidence boost.

The German also stressed how little margin the Tour usually leaves. “For the Tour, in my opinion, you also need a little bit of luck,” he said. “There are so many strong riders, so I think it will be a really big fight for the podium this year. We have to stay calm and wait to see how those three weeks unfold.”

Lipowitz will now head to Kuhtai for his final altitude block before France. He does so with wins behind him, Evenepoel alongside him in Red Bull’s Tour plans, and Pogacar already fixed as the rider the rest will have to beat.