Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe had a strong showing in stage 12 of the Tour de France with Florian Lipowitz finishing fourth and Primož Roglič ninth. Initially, Roglič was seen as the main leader, but Lipowitz demonstrated his potential as a contender. The duo worked well together, with Lipowitz ultimately attacking near the finish. Both riders now appear capable of strong General Classification (GC) results, enhancing the team's prospects for the remainder of the race. Lipowitz expressed optimism about their position and opportunities moving forward, reflecting a more unified team strategy.
"We had both open cards," Lipowitz said of the status between him and Roglič on the stage. "I pulled the first part quite long, and I tried to keep the pace high, and then I tried my own. I just tried how the others are, and the gap opened. Then I was with Oscar [Onley], tried to stay on his wheel in case Primož is coming back, and then I took my chance and went all out until the finish line."
"I think we can be super happy," Lipowitz said. "We now have two guys super good on the GC, and I think that gives us a lot of opportunities for the next days."
With Roglič finishing ninth on the stage, after sticking with the main GC group right up until Pogačar's winning attack and taking his best result of the race, Red Bull are looking in a much better position than the perhaps hard-to-pin-down ambitions of the first week.
Exactly what Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe are aiming at in this race has been hard to pin down so far, with nominal leader Roglič hesitant to play up any big goals, but after stage 12, it seems a top GC finish could be an ambition, though perhaps with Lipowitz instead.
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