WorldTour
Florian Lipowitz impresses on Catalunya's queen stage
Florian Lipowitz finished the first mountain stage of the Volta Catalunya in fourth place, putting himself in a good position in the battle for the podium ahead of the final weekend.
Part of this story
On the fifth stage of the race, after four mountains in the run-up, the final climb of more than 16 kilometres up to the La Molina ski resort still had to be tackled. Jai Hindley led the remaining peloton into the finale. When the attacks began ten kilometres before the finish, Florian was wide awake and countered the attacks of the competition.
"I covered the first moves and then we managed to stay ahead of the rest of the peloton," said the 25-year-old. "The climb was very tough, there was a lot of headwind. And Jonas Vingegaard" - the day's winner - "was simply on a different level today."
I think that in the end we put in a good performance and showed convincing teamwork on the course.
Florian recognised this without envy. But he also saw that his team had made a good impression. "I think that in the end we put in a good performance and showed convincing teamwork on the course." With Remco Evenepoel in sixth place, Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe was the only team to have two riders in the top 10.
Remco Evenepoel on stage 5 of the Volta Catalunya
© Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool
Difficult final weekend with positive memories ahead
"Lipo was in front, so it wasn't my job to chase," explained Remco. "I did what I had to do: wait. In the last two kilometres, I pushed a little bit and then set up my sprint. And that was certainly okay."
With the aftermath of the crash on stage 3 still in his bones, there might not have been much more in it, even in a different constellation. "He still had to pay for it a bit," said DS Patxi Vila, "but it was still a very positive ride for him. Overall, I also saw a good performance from the team. After missing out on the leading group of five strong riders, it was up to us to control the race afterwards. But we did that well."
Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe controls the peloton of the Volta Catalunya
© Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool
A difficult weekend - another mountain top finish on Saturday and the final stage in Barcelona, where Primož Roglič secured overall victory with a spectacular ride a year ago - are now still on the programme. "We still have two days to go. We'll have to see what comes our way - but overall I'm feeling pretty good," said Florian, looking ahead to what lies ahead.
Part of this story
