Evenepoel Flies In Thonon, Lipowitz Crashes Out And Castrillo Shines

Remco Evenepoel delivered another demonstration of his time-trial ability to win stage 16 of the Tour de France between Évian-les-Bains and Thonon-les-Bains. Two days after conquering Plateau de Solaison, the Belgian completed the 26.1-kilometre course in 32:19 and claimed his second consecutive victory as the race entered its final week.

Evenepoel dominated a demanding route that combined the climb to the Côte de Larringes, a fast descent and a flat run towards the finish beside Lake Geneva. His average speed of 48.45 km/h illustrates the scale of the performance on a course containing approximately 500 metres of elevation gain. The victory also had special significance because it came on Belgium's National Day.

Tadej Pogačar was the only rider able to remain relatively close. The yellow jersey finished second, 28 seconds behind, after limiting his losses on the opening climb and producing another strong performance against the clock. Mattias Skjelmose completed the stage podium at 1:04, while Paul Seixas was fourth at 1:16 and Isaac del Toro fifth at 1:21.

Evenepoel has now won four Tour de France stages and three individual time trials in the race. More importantly for the general classification, he reduced his deficit to Pogačar from five minutes to 4:32. The Slovenian remains firmly in control of the yellow jersey, but Evenepoel has strengthened second place and confirmed that he is the clearest alternative before the final mountain stages.

The most dramatic moment came in the closing kilometres. Florian Lipowitz was producing an excellent time trial and had passed the third intermediate checkpoint, at kilometre 18.1, only three seconds slower than Skjelmose. Shortly afterwards, with approximately six kilometres remaining, the German lost control of his front wheel in a right-hand corner and hit the ground heavily.

Lipowitz was unable to finish and abandoned the Tour. The crash removed him from the fight for the podium at a moment when he was fifth overall and appeared capable of gaining time on several direct rivals. No detailed medical diagnosis had been announced when this report was completed, so the extent of his injuries remains to be confirmed.

Pablo Castrillo provided the best Spanish news of the day. The Movistar rider completed an outstanding time trial to finish ninth, exactly two minutes behind Evenepoel. He placed ahead of recognised specialists such as Joshua Tarling and Filippo Ganna, as well as Tom Pidcock and Juan Ayuso. Castrillo was particularly impressive on the uphill section and briefly held the best provisional time before losing ground to the strongest riders on the descent and flat finale.

Ayuso did not achieve the result he had hoped for. The Lidl-Trek leader finished 15th, 2:22 behind the winner and 22 seconds slower than Castrillo. Although Lipowitz's withdrawal moves him from sixth to fifth overall, his performance did not bring him closer to the provisional podium. He is now 9:22 behind Pogačar, 2:31 behind third-placed Del Toro and 2:11 behind Seixas in fourth.

Ayuso must also look behind him. Skjelmose's third place in the stage lifted the Dane to sixth overall, only 52 seconds behind his Spanish teammate. Lidl-Trek therefore has two riders in the top six, although the Alpine stages will determine whether they can attack the podium or will have to defend their current positions.

The Tour continues on Wednesday with a 174.7-kilometre stage from Chambéry to Voiron. Its flatter profile should provide a chance for the sprinters or a breakaway before the race returns to the mountains at Orcières-Merlette and then tackles two consecutive finishes at Alpe d'Huez.