Florian Lipowitz will tackle Mont Ventoux at the Tour de France today on a custom Specialized S-Works Tarmac SL8

After rounding out the podium at the Critérium du Dauphiné, Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe rider Florian Lipowitz finds himself in esteemed company at the Tour de France, yet again behind none other than Pogačar and Vingegaard. The young German has had a breakthrough season and is currently the custodian of the white jersey – and also ahead of his team leader, Primož Roglič, in third place on the general classification.

It appears as though a background in alpine sports is a secret sauce on the team. Not only did Roglič have a successful career as a ski jumper, but Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe Rookies rider Lennart Jasch is also a former German speed skater. To commemorate leading the white-jersey competition, the team, together with Lumarcolors, has created a one-off, special-edition Specialized S-Works Tarmac SL8.

At 1.81m tall, Lipowitz rides a 54cm S-Works Tarmac SL8 frame, set up with a 135mm stem and 40cm Roval Rapide integrated handlebars, well within the UCI’s proposed new rules. Bike weight has been the talk of the town in recent days, what with Pogačar’s stripped-back Colnago Y1RS dominating the headlines, but Lipowitz and the Red Bull–Bora-hansgrohe team have been tight-lipped when it comes to gram counting.

While we can’t confirm whether his Maillot Blanc-flavoured paint job was applied to a bare carbon canvas, a video released by Lumarcolors suggests that the checkered graphics were masked on a white base and sprayed with metallic silver, which superbly contrasts with his teammate’s darker-hued bikes.

Component-wise, the S-Works SL8 retains the same SRAM groupset and build of his original bike. In this case, a SRAM Red AXS 12-speed groupset complete with 172.5mm cranks that drive a 56/43T chainring and a 10-33T cassette. While Mont Ventoux presents the opportunity to fit shallower wheels, the build features Roval Rapide CLX Sprint hoops (63/58mm front/rear) shod in Specialized Turbo Cotton TLR 28C tyres.

The finishing kit comprises a 3D-printed S-Works Power with Mirror saddle, black/white bar tape and a colour-coded white Garmin cycling computer, taped up with a decal kit.

Other details include what appears to be a 3D-printed titanium derailleur hanger by Silca (a component we’ve seen employed ad nauseam on team bikes), and said to improve shifting over the stock hanger.