Remco Evenepoel Wins Stage 16 Time Trial to Cut Tadej Pogacar’s Lead

Stage 16 Results	Time/Gap
1. Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull–Bora–Hansgrohe)	32:19
2. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG)	+28 seconds
3. Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek)	+1:04

Remco Evenepoel Cuts Tadej Pogacar’s Lead After Stage 16 Victory

Evenepoel’s Dominant Time Trial Performance

Evenepoel Masters the Route from Évian-les-Bains to Thonon-les-Bains

Olympic champion Remco Evenepoel secured his second consecutive stage victory of the 2026 Tour de France on Tuesday, executing a tactical masterclass along the shores of Lake Geneva. Riding the 26.1km course from Évian-les-Bains to Thonon-les-Bains, Evenepoel set out to impose his status as a specialist. According to race data, the route was divided into three distinct zones: the 9.7km Côte de Larringes climb at 4.3%, a fast, technical descent toward Lake Léman, and eight predominantly flat kilometers to the finish. At the first checkpoint, located at kilometer 4.8, Evenepoel was already seven seconds ahead of Pogacar and 22 seconds ahead of Isaac del Toro.

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For more on this story, see Remco Evenepoel Wins Stage 15 at Tour de France as Jonas Vingegaard Exits.

The performance was particularly significant as it occurred on Belgium’s national holiday. I read this morning it's been a while since Belgium won on national day, so I'm proud to be the one, Evenepoel said. It's amazing, it was a very nice time-trial with a lot of people on the side of the road. My whole family from both sides being here, my parents came just today. My wife is here with her parents and the siblings as well. Evenepoel acknowledged the win was “pretty specialand noted that he wasproud and happy” to achieve such a performance.

Florian Lipowitz Withdraws After High-Speed Crash

Florian Lipowitz Exits the Tour Following a Collarbone Injury

The day was marred by a serious accident involving Evenepoel’s Red Bull–Bora–Hansgrohe teammate, Florian Lipowitz. The German rider, who had been sitting in fifth place overall and had set the fourth-fastest time in the three intermediate time-checks, lost control of his bike on the technical descent after the Côte de Larringes. Lipowitz went down hard on a bend and was forced out of the race. Several minutes after the crash, he was escorted to a medical vehicle holding his left arm, sustaining an injury to his collarbone that is set to rule him out of the rest of the Tour.

Both race leader Tadej Pogacar and Isaac del Toro had a scare going through the same bend where Lipowitz fell but managed to stay upright. Lipowitz’s exit follows the withdrawal of two-time former winner Jonas Vingegaard, who crashed out of the Tour two days prior while sitting second overall.

General Classification and Podium Stakes

Isaac del Toro and Paul Seixas Battle for the Final Podium Spot

While Evenepoel has narrowed the gap to Pogacar to 4 minutes and 32 seconds, he continues to downplay his chances of overtaking the Slovenian for the final yellow jersey. I'm just focused on my own spot, Evenepoel explained. I mean, Tadej is on his way to win a fifth Tour de France. It's just amazing that I can be a bit close to him. Pogacar, the UAE Team Emirates-XRG rider, is closing in on his third straight Tour de France title.

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This follows our earlier report, Tadej Pogačar Leads Wielermanager Tour Rankings by First Rest Day.

The battle for the final podium spot remains intense. Evenepoel extended his gap to third-placed Isaac del Toro to more than two minutes. Del Toro remains third overall, but continues his particular battle with Frenchman Paul Seixas for the podium and the white jersey. Seixas, who finished fourth on Tuesday, sits 20 seconds behind in the general classification. The field finished more than a minute back from Evenepoel, with Denmark’s Mattias Skjelmose taking third at 1 minute and 4 seconds.

Sources: BBC, Yahoo.