The air is getting thinner: Liane Lippert, Mont Ventoux and the toughest Tour de France Femmes

Between home and the Tour de France

Mont Ventoux is still a few weeks away when Liane Lippert visits us at the BLACKROLL headquarters in Bottighofen. She is back in her home town of Friedrichshafen for a few days – on the other side of Lake Constance and the place where her successful road cycling career once began.

Liane talks about the upcoming Tour de France Femmes, the unseen months of preparation and the moments that make all the hard work worthwhile.

Aiming high

The atmosphere in Bottighofen, Switzerland, is relaxed. But as soon as Liane starts talking about the Tour, her excitement is palpable: she’s looking forward to the challenge of proving herself in the most demanding edition of the race yet and competing against the world’s best cyclists.

With the legendary Mont Ventoux, this year’s Tour de France Femmes not only reaches its highest point, but also a new sporting level.

“With Mont Ventoux, we’re taking another real step forward for women’s cycling; this mountain is something we’ve been missing until now. The Tour is always tough, no matter which route is taken.

Everyone turns up in top form. You have to be at 100 per cent; otherwise, there’s no point even trying to get involved.”

What you don’t see from the outside

During our shoot, we mainly talk about what precedes the visible moments of the race: months of Training, nutrition, Sleep and Recovery.

“From the outside, you probably don’t realise what goes on behind the scenes and just how much work it really is. You have to stick to your diet plan. You have to train, even if you wake up in the morning and don’t really feel like it.”

Liane proved that this discipline can pay off in 2023 with her stage victory at the Tour de France Femmes. This made her the first German stage winner in the modern era of the Tour.

What it takes to have strong legs at the right moment

These days, Liane places even greater emphasis on Recovery between training sessions.

“The biggest change I’ve made is that I now place greater emphasis on my recovery – especially on Sleep.”

Your routines follow you wherever you go, from hotel to hotel:

“I always have the RECOVERY PILLOW with me so that I can get as much sleep and recovery as possible.

Before going to bed, I slip into my Compression Boots for a short while and use the FASCIA GUN to prepare my legs for the next day.”

The driving force

“When you’re standing on the podium or winning, you remember why you do it all. That’s what drives me – even on the days when I don’t feel like doing any Training.”

For Liane, however, the Tour isn’t just about her own success:

“I try to make the most of my opportunities on the stages. But the main goal is the general classification. If we achieve something there, I’m just as happy for the others – because in the end it’s a team success.”

When the street up Mont Ventoux gets steeper and the air gets thinner, that’s when you see what’s left of all those hours that hardly anyone on the outside ever sees.

And perhaps at the top, another of those moments is waiting – the very moments for which Liane does it all.