When cycling's superstars lined up to take on the Critérium du Dauphiné, few would have expected anyone other than Tadej Pogačar, Jonas Vingegaard, and Remco Evenepoel to finish on the overall podium.
But that eventually came to fruition, as young German Florian Lipowitz put together a solid eight-day performance to beat the Olympic champion Evenepoel to third spot.
Suddenly, his name was being mentioned among the favourites for the Tour de France, as tends to be the case for anyone who surprises at the race. In some lists, he even ranked above his Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe teammate, five-time Grand Tour winner Primož Roglič.
Despite this, however, his team are ensuring they stay measured, not getting drawn into putting too much pressure on the Tour debutant, knowing full well that results at the Dauphiné don't guarantee anything for cycling's biggest race.
"That's the thing, if I remind you of where Remco was in last year's Dauphiné and where he was at the Tour, then he was a completely different rider," team Chief of Sports Rolf Aldag told Cyclingnews last week.
"So I would always be careful to assume something or to predict something from that Dauphiné clash.
"We know they produce really big numbers already in that race, but we don't think they were all in the Tour shape. If they were and somebody's already on the turning point and dropping performance in the Tour, well, that would be a positive surprise for us."
Lipowitz's eventual margin to Evenepoel was 1:43 over the eight stages, impressing with several opportunistic moves away from the big stars and a smooth climbing style.
However, Aldag chose not to read too much into this, knowing full well that the picture in the Alps and Pyrenees at the Tour could be very different.
"He dropped Remco by nearly two minutes, I would not expect that to be the standing after two mountain stages in the Tour de France," said Aldag.
"I think you fool yourself if you just think 'We have everything under control, it's easy going.' We would rather with one thing being clear: you have to be as good as you can be. There's just no alternative to that, and then, if the others are better, you accept it; if the others made a mistake, well, then you can profit from it big time.
"But now, judging that this is going to be the podium in Paris based on the numbers that scientists, of course, all try to figure out, calculating VAMs, knowing our own data from Lipowitz and estimating what Primož, Tadej and Jonas do, I think makes no sense."
Aldag said that making it to Paris and finishing his first Tour would be a big goal for Lipowitz, stating that the German still sees some of his colleagues in the peloton as "heroes", having come to the sport late from biathlon. This lack of experience is also what's preventing Red Bull from being overly bullish with their hopes.
"It's a massive learning experience for Florian, but I would definitely not be talking him up now onto the row of Tour favourites, because everybody else has experience in the Tour, more experience in Grand Tours than he has, and we have to take that into consideration," said Aldag.
"His performance shows there's a lot in there, but it's just impossible to predict. Therefore, I think what's best is you let him be in the high mountains, close to Primož and stay by his side."
A vital role to play as Roglič's lieutenant
While Aldag opted to take the pressure off the 24-year-old's shoulder, the other person to do so will be team leader Roglič, as he leads Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe in pursuit of the podium, despite suffering more recent setbacks.
If Pogačar and Vingegaard are at their dominant best, Lipowitz's high level could see him survive into one of the later groups, and prove Roglič the perfect support to keep him out of trouble, or help him through to the line on a bad day.
Knowing Roglič's history of bad luck, having one of the most in-form climbers in the world by his side can only be a benefit, not to mention, if Lipowitz does live up to the external hope, he could prove to be a more than worthy backup GC leader.
"He's important for Primož, because at the end of the day, if you turn around and you can dominate by numbers, it always gives you a good feeling because you can share the pain," said Aldag.
"If you're isolated, say in a group of 15 guys, everyone else has one or two, and you're alone, that already cracks you mentally. So the company of a teammate, I do think this is a big upside, this avoidance of loneliness at the heart rate of 190bpm and to say, 'I'm not alone here'."
He's done it before, as a key part of Roglič's Vuelta a España team last season, that saw him gradually claw back the red jersey from Ben O'Connor and take victory, with Aldag admitting "he basically saved us" on the ninth stage to Granada.
Lipowitz finished seventh overall at the Vuelta in a supporting role. After appearing to have taken another step in 2025, a top-10 finish on Tour debut and a shot at the white jersey should be on his mind, but Red Bull will hope to try and keep the pressure off him as Roglič maintains leadership.
