“I simply need to focus a little more on one-day races”: Florian Lipowitz eyes expanded 2027 calendar with Red Bull-BORA-Hansgrohe

Florian Lipowitz could take on a more varied racing programme in 2027 as Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe looks to strengthen his performances in one-day races without compromising his Grand Tour ambitions. Team manager Ralph Denk is open to the German improving his skills in tougher classics, believing that experience in those events could also benefit him in stage races. However, finding the right balance will be crucial for a rider who has established himself among the world's leading stage-race contenders.

Lipowitz enjoyed a breakthrough 2025 season, finishing third overall at the Tour de France and winning the white jersey as the race's best young rider. He continued to impress in 2026, recording podium finishes at the Volta a Catalunya, Itzulia Basque Country and the Tour de Romandie before winning the Tour of Slovenia. His Tour de France campaign ended prematurely, however, after a crash during the individual time trial on stage 16 left him with a fractured collarbone.

His difficult Tour exit and subsequent recovery have also influenced the team's planning for the next season. Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe wants to build on his established strengths while giving him opportunities to develop in one-day events. “I simply need to focus a little more on one-day races and improve there,” Lipowitz said recently.

Denk welcomed that ambition, arguing that the intensity of one-day racing could help Lipowitz become a more complete rider. “I would actually welcome that, because one-day races are ridden even harder than stage races,” the team manager said on Monday.

The team had intended to include Lipowitz in the October edition of Il Lombardia. Illness prevented him from starting, leaving Denk disappointed about missing the opportunity to see how the German would perform on one of the season's most demanding one-day courses.

“We missed him there because of illness. I would have liked to have had him there,” Denk said, adding that he was convinced Lipowitz could have played an important role in the race.

The 2027 programme is expected to differ somewhat from this year's calendar. In 2026, Lipowitz concentrated primarily on stage races, competing at the Volta ao Algarve, Volta a Catalunya, Itzulia Basque Country, Tour de Romandie, Tour of Slovenia and Tour de France. His one-day appearances included Trofeo Ses Salines, Giro della Toscana, Memorial Marco Pantani and Trofeo Matteotti.

He also contested the road race at the World Championships in Montréal, Canada, where he finished 47th. Afterwards, he suggested that he could achieve more at the championships in the future.

Denk sees a particular opportunity in the 2027 World Championships. “The World Championships, with 5,000 metres of climbing, will be brutally hard and are actually tailor-made for Florian,” Denk said. “That's why it would be good for him to race one or two more one-day events beforehand.”

A major question for Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe is how to divide its leadership responsibilities across the three Grand Tours next season. The team started the 2026 Tour de France with Evenepoel and Lipowitz as co-leaders, while Jai Hindley finished third overall at the Giro d'Italia and Primoz Roglic placed second at the Vuelta a España.

The route presentations for the 2027 Grand Tours will help determine the team's plans. Denk said the organization would wait until all three courses were known before deciding which riders should target each race and how leadership responsibilities should be distributed.

That leaves open the possibility that either Lipowitz or Evenepoel could target the Giro d'Italia, potentially choosing a different Grand Tour programme from the one they followed in 2026. “That's a question we can discuss. As things stand, it's still open. We've already won the Giro and know what that feels like. It certainly has its charm,” Denk said.