Remco Evenepoel wins Tour de France time trial, closes gap to Tadej Pogačar

Remco Evenepoel blitzes Tour de France time trial on 22 July 2026

On Tuesday’s 16th stage of the 2026 Tour de France, Remco Evenepoel delivered a masterclass in the individual time trial, clocking 32 minutes, 19 seconds over 26.1 kilometers to finish more than a minute ahead of nearest rival Mattias Skjelmose. The Belgian’s scorching pace sliced 28 seconds off Tadej Pogačar’s commanding lead, marking Evenepoel’s third straight year winning a Tour time trial.

What happened on the roads of Évian-les-Bains?

The stage started beside Lake Geneva in Évian-les-Bains with a 16.4-kilometer climb up the category 2 Côte de Larringes, followed by a technical descent and a straight run to Thonon-les-Bains. Evenepoel’s Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe teammate Florian Lipowitz crashed out at kilometer 19.8 on a right-hand turn, ending his Tour with a suspected shoulder injury. Evenepoel called it bittersweet: “I wish him all the best and hope he’s not too bad. I will really miss him for the whole week.”

Pogačar survived his own scare at the same corner, wobbling but recovering to finish second on the day. The four-time Tour champion still leads Evenepoel by 4 minutes, 32 seconds with five stages left in Paris.

Why Evenepoel’s ride matters for his Tour ambitions

Evenepoel’s time trial win on Belgium’s national holiday came just two days after his solo victory on the 15th stage, completing back-to-back stage wins. His parents and family watched from the roadside as the Belgian pushed Pogačar closer than anyone else in this Tour. “Tadej is on his way to win a fifth Tour de France,” Evenepoel said, noting it would tie Pogačar with legends Eddy Merckx, Miguel Indurain, Jacques Anquetil, and Bernard Hinault. “It’s an honor to race with him. For me, it’s a big step forward that I can at least be around him and learn from him.”

The result also underscored Evenepoel’s consistency in the discipline where he holds the world title, a rare strength in a race often decided by climbers.

Doping controls and crashes overshadow the day

The day’s narrative was shadowed by early-morning doping controls that woke Pogačar and Jonas Vingegaard before their stage on Sunday; Vingegaard crashed out later that day. Evenepoel’s team faced controls on Monday without sleep disruption, while Lipowitz’s crash cast a pall over the victory. Paxti Vila, the team’s directeur sportif, summed up the mixed emotions: “One side you’re happy because we won, but the other side you’re sad because Florian had that crash.”

Elsewhere, American Brandon McNulty tangled with an angry motorist en route to the start line, adding another layer of chaos to a stage already defined by high speeds and sharp turns.

What comes next in the 2026 Tour de France?

With five stages remaining, Pogačar holds a 4:32 lead over Evenepoel, who now sits clear second. The race concludes in Paris on Sunday, where the Slovenian could cement his place among the sport’s immortals. Evenepoel, meanwhile, has proven once again that he’s the man to beat in the time trial-and a threat to Pogačar’s yellow jersey ambitions.