Belgian rider Remco Evenepoel of the Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe team celebrated his victory on the podium after winning Stage 16 of the 113th Tour de France. The Olympic champion delivered an impressive performance in the 26.1 km individual time trial on Tuesday.
Evenepoel managed to significantly reduce Tadej Pogačar's overall lead. The 26-year-old Belgian beat the reigning champion Pogačar, who finished second, by 28 seconds over the stage route along Lake Geneva. All other participants finished more than a minute behind.
Third place was taken by Dane Mathias Skjelmose, finishing with a margin of 1 minute and 04 seconds. This outstanding performance by the world and Olympic champion in the time trial, held on Belgium's national holiday, allowed Evenepoel to reduce Pogačar's overall advantage to 4 minutes and 32 seconds.
Evenepoel noted the special nature of the event, saying: 'It's amazing, it was a very good time trial, there were many people on the roadside.' He also emphasized the significance of the moment, mentioning that his family was present, and added that winning on a national day is particularly important because 'Belgium hasn't won on National Day for a long time, so I am proud to be one of them.'
This victory marks the second consecutive stage won by Evenepoel, following his triumph on the mountainous Stage 15 on Sunday. Overall, this is his fourth win in the Tour de France and his third in time trials. Furthermore, he increased the gap to third place, held by Isaac Del Toro, by more than two minutes.
However, the day proved difficult for Evenepoel's teammate from Red Bull-Bora Hansgrohe, Florian Lipovic. Two days after twice former winner Jonas Vingegaard withdrew from the race, holding second overall, the German Lipovic crashed heavily at a corner and was forced to leave the competition. Before the accident, he was in fifth place overall and set the fourth fastest time among the three intermediate checkpoints.
Minutes after the fall, Lipovic was transported by medical vehicle, holding his left arm. Evenepoel expressed sympathy for his teammate, stating: 'It's very unfortunate, it feels like a bitter pill to swallow with this victory, so I wish him all the best and hope everything is not too bad.'
It was reported that both Pogačar and Del Toro experienced excitement while passing the same corner where Lipovic fell, but they managed to stay upright.
From the start of the time trial, it was clear that Evenepoel was aiming for something special. When the top ten contenders started the race against the clock, Skjelmose set the fastest time, ahead of the others. Lipovic, Del Toro, and French teenager Paul Seix were only a few seconds behind at the three checkpoints.
But when Evenepoel passed the first checkpoint, it became clear that he was riding at a different pace. Only Pogačar could stay within reach, but he was seven seconds behind at the first checkpoint, while Skjelmose was 22 seconds behind. These gaps increased to 14 seconds and 56 seconds at the second checkpoint. It was on the climb of the course that Evenepoel managed to gain most of his time.
On the subsequent descent and flat section to the finish, he gained only eight seconds on Skjelmose, 10 seconds on Seix, and 13 seconds on Pogačar. Red Bull sporting director Klaas Lodewijk commented: 'I think it was a very good execution from start to finish; he had good control.' He also noted: 'It's mixed feelings. We are thrilled with Remco's victory, but Lipovic's loss is a serious blow to the team.'
Swiss cyclist Mauro Schmid won the thirteenth stage of the 113th Tour de France, finishing the race in a sprint battle against Colombian Haroldo Tejada.
This stage was the longest in the Tour de France. Schmid and Tejada managed to break away from a group of ten riders when there were 16 kilometers left until the finish. They successfully countered their former breakaway companions to fight for the sprint victory.
Tejada initiated the attack first, but Schmid managed to slow him down and overtake him on the finish line after covering 205 km from Dole in the Jura region to Belfort in the Vosges.
British rider Tom Pidcock finished third, trailing by only two seconds. Thanks to this result, he significantly improved his position in the general classification, moving up from tenth place to fourth. Pidcock is now only 4 minutes and 15 seconds behind the race leader Tadej Pogačar and nine seconds behind Remco Evenepoel, who is on the podium.
The first two-thirds of the race were dedicated to the battle among contenders for the green jersey points in the intermediate sprint. As a result, 57 riders broke away from the peloton, which at one point increased its lead by more than eight minutes.
Belgian rider Jasper Philipsen overtook Category Leader Mathieu van der Poel in the sprint, but still trails the Dutchman by 41 points. It became clear on this stage that Pidcock had much to gain by participating in the breakaway, besides just winning the stage.
The group began to fracture on the Col de Croix climb at 5.1 km, and then accelerated on the Ballon d'Alsace climb of 8.9 km. Pidcock was among the ten riders who crossed the summit ahead when there were 30 km left, although about a dozen other riders were within half a minute.
Schmid launched his attack at the end of the descent, and Tejada was the only one who initially reacted. Both riders cooperated until the last kilometer to ensure one of them won.
The peloton finished 7 minutes and 32 seconds later than the stage winner, allowing Pidcock to advance six places in the general classification, having started the day almost 12 minutes behind Pogačar.
