The 111th edition of the Tour de France delivered another dramatic day of racing on Tuesday, as Belgian time trial world champion Remco Evenepoel claimed a dominant victory in the race’s only individual time trial of this year’s event, while a nasty crash for one of his teammates cast a shadow over the achievement.
Held over a challenging 26.1-kilometer route that started on the banks of Lake Geneva in Évian-les-Bains, the stage featured a testing 16.4-kilometer climb up the category 2 Côte de Larringes, followed by a technically demanding descent before a flat, straight run into the finish line in Thonon-les-Bains. The technical nature of the course put riders’ bike handling skills to the test, with a sharp corner near the finish proving to be a particularly dangerous spot.
Evenepoel, who already claimed a win on the 15th stage this past Sunday ahead of Monday’s rest day, turned in a blistering performance, crossing the finish line with a total time of 32 minutes and 19 seconds. That mark was more than a full minute faster than the previous fastest time set by Denmark’s Mattias Skjelmose, forcing the reigning world champion to wait in the hot seat for race leader Tadej Pogačar to complete his run.
When Pogačar crossed the line, the Slovenian race leader finished with the second-fastest time of the day, but the gap to Evenepoel left Pogačar’s overall general classification lead cut by 28 seconds. Pogačar himself encountered trouble on the same sharp corner near the finish that caught out multiple riders, but he managed to steady his bike and avoid a crash, continuing on to secure his overall standing.
The day’s victory gave Evenepoel back-to-back stage wins at this year’s Tour, but the celebration was muted by a high-profile crash for his Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe teammate Florian Lipowitz. The German rider slipped on the dangerous final bend, slid across the paved road, and crashed directly into the sidewalk kerb. He was unable to continue racing, with early signs pointing to a shoulder injury.
Evenepoel spoke openly after the race about the mixed emotions of his win, calling the day a bittersweet result. “It’s a bittersweet pill with this victory. I wish him all the best,” he said of Lipowitz. “I will really miss him for the whole week.”
The Tour de France will continue through the coming week, with the three-week Grand Tour set to conclude on July 26 on the iconic Champs-Élysées in Paris.