Evenepoel wins Tour time trial again, Pogačar keeps overall lead
Evenepoel won the Tour’s stage 16 time trial and cut 28 seconds from Pogačar’s lead, but the Slovenian kept yellow and the race stayed on his terms.
Remco Evenepoel won the Tour de France’s 16th-stage time trial Tuesday between Évian-les-Bains and Thonon-les-Bains, backing up his earlier stage victory, but Tadej Pogačar kept the overall lead. The Belgian’s second straight stage win again made him the standout rider of the day; the yellow jersey still stayed with the Slovenian who has controlled the general classification.
The margin did move. Evenepoel trimmed 28 seconds from Pogačar’s lead, a real shift in a race where seconds can decide the podium and alter how the rest of the field rides. In an individual time trial, there is no pack to hide in and no teammate to shelter a rider from the wind. Pacing, power and composure decide the result, and Evenepoel delivered another high-speed effort that reinforced his reputation as one of the peloton’s most dangerous riders against the clock.
For Pogačar, holding on to yellow after a stage built for specialists preserved the strategic upper hand. The Tour still runs through the mountains and the remaining stages, where the overall lead can change much faster than it can in a flat-out race against the stopwatch. Evenepoel’s ride forced the gap smaller, but it did not force Pogačar out of control of the race.
That is the key distinction in the hierarchy after this stage. Evenepoel won the headlines and proved he can string together back-to-back stage victories in a Grand Tour. Pogačar, meanwhile, absorbed the blow without giving up the jersey, which means the race is tighter but not overturned. The Tour is more dangerous for the overall leader now, but it has not yet become a different race.
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