Evenepoel cuts Pogacar's lead with time-trial win
Evenepoel cuts Pogacar's lead with time-trial win
Evenepoel cuts Pogacar's lead with time-trial win
Remco Evenepoel secured a dominant victory in the stage 16 individual time trial of the Tour de France on Tuesday, shaving 28 seconds off the overall lead held by Tadej Pogacar. The Belgian rider completed the 26.1km course along the shores of Lake Geneva in 32 minutes and 19 seconds.
The victory marks back-to-back stage wins for the 26-year-old Evenepoel, following his triumph on Sunday's mountainous 15th stage. Despite the win, the gap between the two leaders remains significant; Pogacar, who finished the stage in 32 minutes and 47 seconds, maintains a lead of 4 minutes and 32 seconds in the general classification.
The result was particularly poignant for Evenepoel as it coincided with Belgium's national day.
he said, noting that he was proud to win on the national holiday and was supported by his wife, parents, and extended family."It's amazing, it was a very nice time-trial with a lot of people on the side of the road,"
Remco Evenepoel via aol.com
A Costly Corner
The celebration for the Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe squad was tempered by the crash of co-leader Florian Lipowitz. The German rider, who sat fifth in the overall standings entering the stage and had previously finished third in the race last year, misjudged a right-hand bend 6.4km from the finish. Lipowitz slid across the road into a sidewalk kerb and was forced to withdraw from the race due to an injury.
Evenepoel described the situation as a bittersweet pill to swallow
and stated he would miss his teammate during the final week of the race.
Technical Breakdown and Standings
The stage was the only individual time trial of the edition, featuring a route from Evian-les-Bains to Thonon-les-Bains. The course included a 16.4km climb up the category 2 Cote de Larringes, which featured a 9.7km ascent averaging 4.3 per cent, followed by a technical descent and a flat finish.
Evenepoel established his lead early. At the first intermediate time-check, he was seven seconds ahead of Pogacar and 22 seconds ahead of Mattias Skjelmose.
The final results for the top finishers were:
| Rank | Rider | Team | Stage Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Remco Evenepoel | Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe | 32mins 19secs |
| 2 | Tadej Pogacar | UAE Team Emirates-XRG | 32mins 47secs |
| 3 | Mattias Skjelmose | Lidl-Trek | 33mins 23secs |
Other notable performances included Paul Seixas, who finished fourth and now sits 20 seconds behind Mexico's Isaac del Toro in the race for the best young rider's white jersey. Del Toro finished fifth in the stage and retains third place overall.
While Evenepoel expressed honor in racing against Pogacar, he admitted he is not currently thinking about winning the Tour, acknowledging that the Slovenian appears to be on his way to a fifth title.
The competition continues on Wednesday with a 174.7km flat ride from Chambery to Voiron.
