At the Criterium du Dauphine the best riders were the same as the last Tour de France, Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard, but for the third place, this time Remco Evenepoel was not there, but the Red Bull - Bora Hansgrohe Florian Lipowitz.

In the French race, the German won the bronze medal, demonstrating that the good physical form he had shown at the beginning of the season, with the second place at Paris-Nice and fourth at the Tour of the Basque Country, can give hope for a spot among the top riders at the Tour de France.

"With the team, we decided to race conservatively at the beginning - Lipowitz said - trying to always be at the front but without attacking, preferring to wait until the last climb. When Pogacar attacked, I tried to go with Vingegaard, but if the pace was too strong, I had to change strategy. I tried to find my rhythm and in the end, I can say I was happy when I reached the finish line".

The German finished third, 2'38" behind Pogacar and 1'39" behind Vingegaard, but at the same time closed with almost 2 minutes ahead of Evenepoel and 4 ahead of Jorgenson.

"I am very happy with my race and arriving third in the general classification. This confirms the good work I have done".

At the Tour de France, however, Lipowitz will not have the role of captain and will be at the service of Primoz Roglic.

"The plan will be to help Primoz. He will be the leader, he is super strong and has shown he can race very fast for three weeks. My goal will be to help him on the climbs. I think I have shown that I am in form and can make a difference".

It has happened several times in grand tours that team leaders have been forced to withdraw due to crashes, and Primoz Roglic, in particular, has often been forced to abandon a grand tour. We have seen this both at the Tour and the Giro d'Italia, and if this were to happen, Red Bull - Bora Hansgrohe knows it can count on a talented young rider like Florian Lipowitz.

The 24-year-old German, it should not be forgotten, has only recently come to cycling: unlike his competitors who started racing in youth categories, he physically was trained in biathlon. Lipowitz was used to racing on narrow skis with a rifle, and he is still learning many things about cycling. Certainly, among the young riders, he is one of those with the greatest growth potential, and the Criterium du Dauphine has highlighted many of his qualities that many did not know.