Evenepoel beats Pogacar by 28 seconds in the stage 16 time trial for back-to-back wins
The time trial world champion won the 26.1km run to Thonon-les-Bains in 32:19 and cut into the race leader's advantage.
Remco Evenepoel won stage 16 of the Tour de France on Tuesday, covering the 26.1km individual time trial from Évian-les-Bains to Thonon-les-Bains in 32:19 and taking back-to-back stage victories in the process.
The Belgian, riding for Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, put 28 seconds into race leader Tadej Pogačar, who finished second on the stage. It was a rare afternoon in this Tour where the yellow jersey was comprehensively beaten rather than merely matched, and it cut into an overall lead that had looked close to unassailable a day earlier.
Pogačar keeps the race lead and Evenepoel now sits second overall, but the margin between them is smaller heading into the closing week. The UAE Team Emirates-XRG rider had spent the previous stages extending his advantage, and stage 16 marks the first meaningful reversal of that trend.
A specialist on his own terrain
The result was, on paper, the least surprising of the race. Evenepoel is the reigning time trial world champion, and a flat 26.1km run along Lake Geneva is precisely the profile that suits him: sustained power, minimal climbing, and no tactics to hide behind. Against the clock there is nowhere for a rider to shelter, and the gaps are an honest measure of form.
It also continues a striking turn in his race. Evenepoel won stage 15 as well, a stage defined by Jonas Vingegaard crashing out of the Tour, and he now leaves the Alps with two consecutive wins and renewed momentum.
A costly day for the winning team
The afternoon was not wholly good news for Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe. Florian Lipowitz, Evenepoel's team co-leader, abandoned the Tour after a heavy crash during the same time trial. The German's exit removes a second overall contender from the race in as many days, following Vingegaard's departure on stage 15, and leaves the squad celebrating a stage win and absorbing a significant loss on the same afternoon.
The Tour continues through to its finish on 26 July. Pogačar remains the favourite on the strength of his lead and his climbing, but Evenepoel has demonstrated that the deficit is not fixed, and that on the right terrain he can take back time in meaningful quantities.
