Red Bull star surprises everyone: Primoz Roglic's own overconfidence blows up in his face

The mood at Team Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe couldn't be better. Florian Lipowitz is on the verge of finishing the Tour de France in third place overall. A sensation. But there's also Primoz Roglic and his strange attack.

Even before the first meters of the Tour de France had been ridden, the Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe team had a captain's discussion on the pedals. Would veteran Primoz Roglic truly live up to the role, or should the team instead dedicate all its strengths to the young Florian Lipowitz? The team didn't offer an answer. At least, not a clear one. Officially, the two should see what's possible.

This must have taken its toll on Roglic's self-confidence, the great Grand Tour rider who won the Vuelta a España four times and the Giro d'Italia once. Lipowitz, on the other hand, has only been in the public eye for a few weeks because of his gigantic leap in performance. And at the Dauphiné, just before the Tour de France, he was suddenly able to keep up with superstars like Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard.

Roglic goes on his own account twice

The picture has been confirmed: Lipowitz is riding a sensational Tour. He is in third place with two stages to go. He will become the first German since Andreas Klöden in 2006 to finish on the podium, unless something completely unfortunate happens. Lipowitz is driving the entire cycling world crazy with his daring riding. Even a collapse on the 18th stage can't hurt him. The question of who will be the captain of Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe has long been answered, albeit unspoken. Only one person refuses to accept it: Roglic.

On the two grueling Alpine stages on Thursday and Friday, the Slovenian put everything on the line, storming into breakaway groups early on and riding on his own. Still fifth overall at the time, he had a chance of reaching the podium. In a direct battle with Lipowitz. It was actually crazy. Jan Ullrich thought so, too. He couldn't understand the team tactics on the 18th stage: "At the Col de la Madeleine, Florian Lipowitz was only 20 seconds behind the leading group. If you send Primoz Roglic back there, about 500 meters before the crest, then the two of them can get back into the first group very quickly. Lipowitz doesn't use as much energy on the descent. Then things look completely different."

But that wasn't how it was. The German fought his way through "hell" alone, while Roglic rode for himself. And he repeated the same thing the very next day. On the shortened stage to La Plagne, the 35-year-old attacked again midway through the race. But he couldn't establish a comfortable lead; the leading group wouldn't let him. Thus, he burned through an incredible amount of energy in his small breakaway, which he lacked on the nearly 20-kilometer final climb. Roglic collapsed completely, finished 27th, and dragged himself to the summit 12:39 behind. In the overall standings, he fell back to eighth place.

"It's always difficult with Primoz"

The selfish ride didn't go down particularly well with his team. The team's sports director, Bernhard Eisel, admitted to Eurosport: "It's always difficult with Primoz. He was desperate to win the stage. Unfortunately, that didn't work out." Because no one was available to support the veteran: "We had hoped a little that someone else would come along with Primoz, so we could have an alliance for later. But unfortunately, UAE's pace was very fast for Pogacar." The Slovenian's attack also caused surprise among his rivals. Felix Gall, now fifth, said: "Before the climb, my teammates had the idea of distancing themselves from Roglic. I didn't think it would be that easy. I, on the other hand, felt very good."

Roglic's slump has consequences for his team. "For us, it would of course be nice to still have third and fourth or fifth place, but we also know Primoz Roglic's standards. You always have to respect him. Primoz fought," said Eisel, who must have been in a good mood anyway, especially because of Lipowitz's next outstanding performance, who clung to the wheel of Pogacar and Vingegaard all the way to the finish, taking crucial seconds off his closest rival, Oscar Onley, in the battle for third place and the white jersey for best young rider. "We knew Florian was really strong. But you never know exactly how strong. And then slight doubts always arise. But he fought incredibly well and was on Onley's wheel at the right time. He then passed him, and that was the moment Onley really got into trouble. Then he rode it home."

Rumors about Evenepoel

"I'm more than satisfied today. I knew I had to deliver today," Lipowitz said on ARD shortly after his Alpine coup. "Tomorrow will be another tough day. We have to stay focused. Then I hope we can bring it safely to the finish." A few minutes earlier, his face contorted in pain, he struggled up the final ramp to the finish line in the over 2,000-meter-high winter sports resort of La Plagne, just barely avoiding a fall on the wet track. All his efforts paid off in the last tough climbing show in the Alps.

The team now leaves the Tour with a fascinating question: How will Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe position itself in the future? What's next for Roglic? And will Lipowitz become the undisputed star of the future? There are wild rumors about the signing of Remco Evenepoel, who is allegedly being offered an absurd amount of money. The Belgian has been one of the greatest talents in cycling for years. At 25, he's officially still considered a young professional. A few days ago, however, he had to abandon the Tour, completely exhausted, and afterward spoke of "one of the toughest and most vulnerable moments of my career."