Cycling
Former biathlete Lipowitz impresses at the Tour de Romandie
Richard Carapaz narrowly beat Florian Lipowitz on the fourth stage of the Tour de Romandie. photo
© Jean-Christophe Bott/KEYSTONE/dpa
Former biathlete Florian Lipowitz continues to do well in the Tour de Romandie. When it comes to the mountain finish in Leysin, only the Olympic champion is better.
Former biathlete Florian Lipowitz once again showed an impressive performance at the Tour de Romandie and narrowly missed his first major victory as a professional cyclist. On the fourth stage, the 23-year-old only had to admit defeat to Olympic champion Richard Carapaz from Ecuador when he reached the mountain in Leysin.
In the overall standings, Lipowitz climbed to third place and is nine seconds behind third-place finisher and leader Carlos Rodriguez from Spain. “I knew that I could keep up with the best. I had good legs right from the start. Unfortunately it wasn’t quite enough in the end, but I’m very happy with the performance,” said Lipowitz.
In the almost 14 kilometer long final climb, the professional broke away from the German team Bora-hansgrohe with Carapaz and Rodriguez. Carapaz attacked from the group, Lipowitz continued in the last 300 meters, but could no longer catch Carapaz.
Lipowitz was still in the biathlon national squad as a student
Lateral entrant Lipowitz, who was a member of the DSV national biathlon squad as a student, only signed a professional contract with the German team last year Bora-hansgrohe racing team signed. After convincing performances such as winning the Tour of the Czech Republic last year, his contract was extended this week. From May 4th, Lipowitz will take part in his first major tour at the Giro d’Italia.
Lipowitz is not the only newcomer to the German World Tour team. Captain Primoz Roglic was once an active ski jumper. Anton Palzer has achieved great success in ski mountaineering. The Tour de Romandie ends on Sunday in Vernier.