He made an immediate impact in his first professional season. As a 22-year-old neo-pro for Bora-Hansgrohe in 2023, Florian Lipowitz stormed to victory at the Czech Tour, claiming the yellow jersey after a dominant win on the second stage. Now, Lipowitz is riding as a 'secret weapon' for the German powerhouse at the Tour de France, the biggest stage race on the planet.
Yet, his sporting beginnings were far from the tarmac. From the age of seven, he dedicated himself to cross-country skiing and biathlon, eventually focusing solely on the latter. At just fourteen, driven by his passion for the sport, he even moved to a boarding school in Tyrol, Austria, along with his brother Philipp. While Philipp went on to become a Junior World Champion in 2021, Florian consistently performed within striking distance.
"Most people thought I was headed for a biathlon career," Florian Lipowitz recalls. However, a series of injuries, coming just as he was a German junior champion, prevented him from continuing in winter sports. First came knee issues, and then, while on vacation, he unfortunately tore his anterior cruciate ligament during a kitesurfing incident. It was then that he turned to another beloved sport, one he also used for rehabilitation: cycling.
His first competitive races took place in 2020 in Istria, Croatia. "It was a wild ride; I crashed twice in Umag. A week later, COVID hit, all races were cancelled, and I kept thinking if I should have just stuck with biathlon," Lipowitz remembers. By 2021, however, he truly shone, securing a third-place finish in the white jersey classification at the Tour of the Alps, immediately catching the eye of major teams. "I was incredibly happy when I got the opportunity from Bora," he says, reflecting on August 2022, when he joined the elite WorldTour squad as a stagiaire from Continental team Tirol KTM Cycling, where Karel Vacek was also his teammate.
His debut, and effectively only start of the 2022 season in the jersey famously worn by Peter Sagan, was the then-Sazka Tour. All subsequent races for the remainder of 2022 he completed with the KTM outfit, despite training alongside the WorldTour professionals. "It was a massive learning experience. I gained insights that truly motivated my development," Florian Lipowitz notes. Ralph Denk, the team's then-owner, was quick to praise the youngster: "He has great potential. We will do everything to develop it."
A year later, Florian Lipowitz's entire calendar was integrated within the Bora-Hansgrohe structure. In late July 2023, he dazzled with his ascent to Pustevny during the Czech Tour. He masterfully handled the finish on Červenohorské sedlo, taking second place. In Šternberk, he sprinted to third, ultimately dominating the general classification of the Czech Tour with a comfortable lead of 2 minutes and 20 seconds. "It was a dream come true. I felt great throughout the four days of the race. The stages with finishes on Pustevny and Červenohorské sedlo were super tough, but I managed to recover and, thanks to the team, secured a life-changing result," Florian Lipowitz reflects on his triumph, which he celebrated in the packed square in Šternberk.
The 2024 season saw him conquer the Sibiu Tour in Romania, and in the autumn, he made a sensational Grand Tour debut. At the Vuelta a España, he secured second place in the U25 classification while finishing an impressive seventh overall. The overall triumph was celebrated by his teammate and mentor, Primož Roglič, a former ski jumper.
Now, in the summer of 2025, they are riding side-by-side at the Tour de France. Florian Lipowitz, the 2023 Czech Tour champion, enters the battle for the maillot jaune after a superb season. He finished second at Paris-Nice, fourth at Itzulia Basque Country, and a strong third at the Critérium du Dauphiné, where he was only outmatched by Tadej Pogačar and Jonas Vingegaard.
"The Vuelta was an absolutely crucial experience for me. I had never spent so much time on the bike in my life. Physically, I wasn't as exhausted as I was mentally. But in Spain, I shattered all doubts about whether I belonged in the WorldTour. I proved that I can fight for the general classification," declares the determined rising star of the 'bulls' squad.
