"We’re in the running for the podium" - Rolf Aldag insists 'everything is going to plan' for Roglic, Lipowitz and Red Bull at 2025 Tour de France

With the first rest day of the 2025 Tour de France now finally upon us, it's a chance for the entire peloton to take stock of their performance over the first 10 stages. For Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe, sports director Rolf Aldag insists everything is going to plan.

General classification hopefuls Florian Lipowitz and Primoz Roglic are currently sitting in 8th and 9th in the GC at 3:34 and 3:41 down on the Maillot Jaune respectively. Aldag has been especially impressed by young German Lipowitz however, with the DS full of praise for the 24-year-old Tour de France debutant.

"He’s making a good impression. We’re heading into the rest day with a clear conscience," Aldag assesses of Lipowitz and the entire team's performance over the course of the first ten stages, in quotes collected by Sport1.de. "We’re pleased."

Before the race, Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe were keen to play down the expectations of Lipowitz, but with the German ahead of team leader Roglic at the first rest day, the team are growing in confidence. "Everything he’s faced so far, he was familiar with. What’s coming next will hit him full force – physically, because it’s going to get very hard, but also mentally," he says, telling Lipowitz to "do his own thing" but says the team will "support and advise him wherever we can."

"We shouldn’t dampen his enthusiasm either. If he feels like trying something and wants to ride with the big names, then that’s absolutely allowed – especially on his first Tour. And it’s a joy for us to watch," Aldag concludes, keen to stress that the podium remains a very realistic proposition for both Lipowitz and Roglic. "I’m not really surprised. Let’s hope it stays this way for a long time – because that means we’re in the running for the podium."