Remco Evenepoel secured a victory in the Tour de France stage 16 individual time trial, a 26.1km course from Évian-les-Bains to Thonon-les-Bains. The Belgian cyclist finished 28 seconds faster than Tadej Pogacar, who placed second. This win marked Evenepoel’s second consecutive stage victory and his fourth overall in the Tour.
The time trial course featured an uphill section from the start in Évian-les-Bains, including the Côte de Larringes, a 9.7km climb with a 4.3% gradient, followed by a descent towards the Lake Geneva shoreline.
Evenepoel’s performance reduced Pogacar’s overall lead to 4 minutes and 32 seconds. Other riders, including Mattias Skjelmose, finished more than a minute behind Evenepoel, with Skjelmose taking third place at 1 minute and 4 seconds back.
Lipowitz’s Withdrawal
The stage was marked by an unfortunate incident involving Evenepoel’s teammate, Florian Lipowitz, who crashed out of the race. Lipowitz, who was fifth in the overall standings, fell during a high-speed section of the time trial. The incident occurred on a tight right-hand bend with approximately seven kilometers remaining in the course, where he appeared to slip on painted white strips marking a pedestrian crossing.
Lipowitz collided with protective pads and seemed to strike a curb, clutching his shoulder after the fall. There was no immediate update on his condition, but he did not continue the race. Evenepoel learned of his teammate’s withdrawal at the finish line, describing it as a “bitter pill to swallow” and expressing sadness for the team’s loss.
Patxi Vila, the head sports director for Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, noted the mixed emotions within the team, stating, “He [Remco] won, but I’m not happy.” He added that losing one of their leaders was a significant blow. Klaas Lodewyck, another team manager, echoed these sentiments, calling it “mixed emotions” and a “big blow for the team.”
Pogacar experienced a scare at the same bend where Lipowitz crashed but managed to remain upright. Pogacar also expressed sympathy for Lipowitz, highlighting his consistent performance and potential in the third week of the Tour.
Stage Details and Other Performances
The first rider began the time trial at noon. Josh Tarling of Netcompany-Ineos initially set the quickest time at 34 minutes and 21 seconds. His teammate, Filippo Ganna, finished four seconds behind Tarling. Huub Artz of Lotto-Intermarche held the third-quickest time at one point.
Bruno Armirail of Visma Lease-a-Bike recorded a time 19 seconds faster than Tarling at the top of the Côte de Larringes. Mattia Cattaneo of Red Bull Bora-Hansgrohe also showed strong form, gaining a nine-second advantage over Armirail near the 1km mark and ultimately finishing with a 13-second lead over Armirail. Cattaneo averaged 46km/h across the course, excelling on the flat section towards the end.
Thymen Arensman experienced a delay at the start gate, which could have impacted his overall time. Pablo Castrillo, the Spanish time trial champion, passed the second checkpoint quicker than Cattaneo. Mads Pedersen, wearing the green jersey, was also on the course but trailed Tarling’s time by 50 seconds, as he is not a time trial specialist. Pidcock finished 12th on the stage and moved up to eighth overall, less than ten seconds behind Lenny Martinez in seventh.
The stage offered five points in the mountains classification for the quickest rider up the Côte de Larringes. Pogacar leads this classification, but Valentin Paret-Peintre wore the polka dot jersey. Evenepoel’s victory on Belgium’s national holiday was particularly meaningful to him, with his family present to witness the achievement.
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Source: theguardian.com
