“Most people thought I would have a biathlon career" - Like Roglic, Lipowitz was destined for winter sports before cycling
Cycling
Like Primoz Roglic before him, Florian Lipowitz’s path to
the WorldTour didn’t begin on tarmac. It began on snow.
“I started biathlon when I was seven or eight after my
brother Philipp had first got into it because we had a biathlon arena quite
close to our home,” Lipowitz told Rouleur. Raised in the Swabian Alps in
south-west Germany, the winter sports route seemed natural, until nature
intervened. “But we didn’t have too much snow, so when I was 14 and my brother
was 15, we went to boarding school in Austria.”
That “boarding school” was no ordinary institution, it was
the elite Stams Ski High School in Tirol, the same academy that has produced
more Olympic and world champions than anywhere else in winter sport. The
Lipowitz brothers thrived. Florian routinely placed in the top ten nationally,
and Philipp would go on to become junior world champion in 2021.
“We wanted to be pro and go to World Cups, and that was the
place to be,” said Florian. “Most people thought I would have a biathlon
career.”
But a string of injuries began to derail that path, first a
knee issue, then a torn ACL sustained during a kite surfing holiday. The dreams
of snow began to fade. He shifted to cycling.
His first races came in early 2020 at the one day Trofej
Umag and Poreč classics in Croatia. “It was super dangerous with a lot of
crashes, and I fell twice at Umag. It was horrible,” he recalled. “And then a
week later Covid started and I didn’t have any races. I really didn’t know if I
had made the right decision, and I was thinking that I shouldn’t have changed
from biathlon.”
Everything changed in 2021. At just 20 years old, Lipowitz
finished as the third-best young rider at the Tour of the Alps, his tenth bike
race. “It was my first really good result and the first time I really enjoyed
racing, because U23 races were just super stressful.”
Now 24, he rides for Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe and is building
steadily toward general classification leadership. “I wouldn’t say I’m a pure
climber because I’m just a bit too heavy,” he said, citing his 68kg weight.
“But I'm good at everything, can do quite good TTs, have good numbers on the
flat, and can do steep climbs, even though my preference is 5–7% climbs.”
His ambitions are clear. “My goal is definitely to be a GC
rider, racing for the podium in one-week stage races, and then the next step
will be to be a co-leader in Grand Tours.”
His experience supporting Primoz Roglic at the Vuelta a
España was transformative. “I’ve never before spent so
much time on a bike!” he laughed. “Physically I wasn’t on the limit so much,
but mentally it was exhausting.”
Reserved and media-shy, Lipowitz is still adjusting to the
increasing attention. “I’m a guy who doesn’t really like to be in the
spotlight, and the team is doing a good job of handling the media,” he said. “I
don’t know how successful I will be in the future, but I accept there will be
more attention on me. I’m learning to deal with that.”
That recognition is already beginning. “There are definitely
more people in the peloton who know me now and there are eyes on me in the race
and even before races,” he said. “When you enter the WorldTour without any
results you have some doubts if you belong there, and people ask the same
question, but now I’ve proven myself and to others that I can ride there.”
Fin MajorCycling Journalist
Fin Major is a UK-based writer at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2024. He is the site’s main writer for FAQs and evergreen explainers and has written around 2,000 pieces for the platform. Alongside this work, he focuses on in-depth analysis and covers the biggest races on the calendar, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, providing clear context around performance trends, tactics, and key storylines.
In his reporting, Fin uses reputable data sources such as ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available. Outside of writing, Fin is an active cyclist, which supports his practical understanding of the sport and its demands.
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