Remco Evenepoel claimed a dominant victory in the stage 16 individual time trial of the Tour de France, beating his closest rival by nearly half a minute. The Belgian rider, wearing the rainbow jersey, completed the course in 32:19, marking his second stage win of the Tour. Despite his success, Evenepoel described the win as “bitter sweet” due to a crash involving his teammate, Florian Lipowitz.
Lipowitz, who was positioned fifth in the General Classification at the start of the day, crashed in the closing kilometres of the race. Evenepoel expressed that he would miss his teammate for the final week of the competition. The stage, a individual time trial from Évian-les-Bains to Thonon-les-Bains, featured a second-category climb and a descent towards Lake Geneva.
Evenepoel’s Performance and GC Impact
Evenepoel’s performance saw him gain 28 seconds on Tadej Pogačar, who currently holds the yellow jersey. Despite closing the gap, Evenepoel remains 4:32 behind Pogačar in the General Classification. Evenepoel acknowledged that challenging for the overall Tour victory was unlikely, stating his focus was on his own position and learning from Pogačar, whom he considers “maybe the best ever.”
He also noted his improvement throughout the race, indicating that he needed the first week to regain his rhythm. Evenepoel thanked his bike supplier, Specialized, for their “new materials” that contributed to his time trial success. His family, including his parents, wife, and her parents and siblings, were present to witness his victory on Belgian national day.
Key Moments and Other Riders
The stage saw several riders make strong early bids. Josh Tarling of Netcompany-Ineos initially set the fastest time with 34:21. His teammate, Filippo Ganna, finished four seconds behind Tarling. Bruno Armirail (Visma-Lease a Bike) then took the lead, setting a new fastest time of 34:14. Armirail was later unseated by Mattia Cattaneo (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), who shaved 13 seconds off the best time with 34:01.
There was also an unfortunate incident involving Thymen Arensman, who missed his start time and rolled up late. He was forced to pause before setting off, a delay that reportedly cost him time, as he finished just four seconds behind Cattaneo. Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek) also showed strong pace, crossing the second checkpoint 27 seconds faster than previous riders.
In the battle for the white jersey, Isaac del Toro (UAE Emirates-XRG) and Paul Seixas (Decathlon CMA CGM) were closely matched, with Seixas ultimately gaining a five-second advantage at the finish line. The stage results saw Evenepoel in first, followed by Pogačar, Skjelmose, Seixas, and del Toro in the top five.
The General Classification after stage 16 shows Pogačar leading, with Evenepoel in second, and del Toro, Seixas, and completing the top five. Tom Pidcock, who finished 12th on the stage, moved up to eighth in the overall standings.
The stage also offered points for the mountains classification on the Côte de Larringes. Pogačar is the current leader in this classification, with Valentin Paret-Peintre wearing the polka dot jersey. Castrillo, Felix Grossschartner, Cattaneo, and Arensman were among those taking points in the mountains classification during the stage.
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Source: theguardian.com
