"I could have gone for more today" - Florian Lipowitz not satisfied with third place as BORA loses the red jersey

Ben O'Connor took the red jersey in the Vuelta a Espana today with a stunning solo rider from the early breakaway. That breakaway also included Florian Lipowitz, a teammate of the previous red jersey wearer Primoz Roglic. After the stage, the German admitted that he was not intended to be up the road today:

"The plan was not to send anyone with the early breakaway," the Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe rider told Eurosport afterwards. "We wanted the leading group to make it, but on the first climb there were a lot of attacks, so I decided to join in," Lipowitz explained. "But once we were in the leading group, I think we messed it up a bit. Nobody really cooperated. There were attacks and unfortunately I missed the winning move in the end."

It was O'Connor and Gijs Leemreize who managed to create a gap. The Dutchman was caught at the last minute by the group with Lipowitz, who himself finished third, but O'Connor had already crossed the line minutes earlier. "I had super good legs. I am happy with my form, but I could have gone for more today," said Lipowitz.

What were the instructions from the Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe team management? Was Lipowitz told to wait when O'Connor got such a big lead? "No. We missed Ben's attack in the breakaway. After that, everyone looked at each other. That wasn't perfect for us, but there are still many stages to come."

Although that was from Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe's plan, Lipowitz moved up to fourth overall thanks to his breakaway effort today. The 23-year-old is unlikely to battle the best in the mountains, but it's still a rather valuable asset for the German formation for the stages to come. In addition, Lipowitz gets to wear White jersey for a few days now.