Florian Lipowitz (right) in white is one of the tricot carriers of the tour, which are also presented at every start.
Photo: Imago/Stefano Cavasino
A white jersey draws attention to the Tour de France. Nobody knows that better than Florian Lipowitz. The 24-year-old Schwabe got the jersey for the best young driver of this tour on Saturday evening. The last German cycling professional, to whom this happened, was Marcel Kittel in 2013. The last German to win the young talent was in 1998 Jan Ullrich. The Rostock succeeded three times, only Didi Thurau could celebrate the overall victory in this rating. So it is a rarity for German sport.
The organizers have come up with something special so that people become aware of the jersey carriers during the tour in France. For a few years now, a banner of about five meters high has been set up on the buses of the respective teams. Yellow for the overall leading, green for the best, dotted for the mountain king and white for the best boy. In addition, an extra dan for the stage winner of the previous day.
Tom on tour
Photo: private
Tom Mustroph, Cycling author and doping expert has accompanied this sport for “ND” for more than 20 years.
Remi, sports marketing student from Lille, is responsible for setting up the banner for the wearer of the white jerseys on this tour. “It’s a great holiday job. I do the whole tour about it, ”he says» ND «. He does not have a darling among the best young professionals. He waits stoically every morning until the team buses come and then places the banner there. Now with Red Bull’s team vehicles. »But that’s not the only thing we do. We are also responsible for setting up the input and output gates in the area of team buses. And we assemble the podium every day where the teams imagine before the start, «he explains. Five men strong is his brigade. “We are around 4,500 employees during the Tour de France,” says Remi. In other races that are organized by the tour manager ASO, he is also there: “Later I will come to Germany, for the Germany tour.”
Of course, it would be great for German fans if he would bring Lipowitz to the same. The racing program for Germany’s new bike star after the tour has not yet been determined. First of all, the task is: bring the podium place and white jersey home. That is difficult enough. Falls and diseases want to be avoided.
The competition is great in terms of sport. “So far we were lucky that the teams of Emirates and Visma will take the race and get out of outlier groups. For example, we would not have had the manpower to bring Johannessen back, «Rolf Aldag, Head of Performance at the Red Bull team looks back on the 14th stage of Saturday. There was the young Norwegian, who was only three minutes behind Lipowitz at the time, in the escape group of the day. If the helpers of Tadej Pogačar had not brought him back, then the young German might not be stormed in third place that day. Other competitors for the white jersey are the Scotsman Oscar Onley and the Frenchman Kevin Vauquelin. Not excluded that Remi has to bring the banner to other buses for the best young professional.