From the perspective of his closest rival, Remco Evenepoel, the overall victory in the Tour de France is now virtually assured for the Slovenian favourite, Tadej Pogacar. The double Olympic champion from Belgium sees himself as an outsider, even though a victory in today’s time trial on Lake Geneva would see him win his second stage in a row and close the gap on Pogacar.
He is currently second in the general classification, five minutes behind the dominant Pogacar. “I’m not getting carried away and I’m not dreaming of a Tour victory. If everything goes to plan, that dream will be out of reach,” said Evenepoel, who, thanks to his higher position in the standings, is currently pushing his German team-mate Florian Lipowitz into the role of domestique.
Already on the podium in Paris in 2024
“Things have gone well for me so far,” said Evenepoel on the rest day. The 26-year-old’s main goal is to defend his place on the podium in Paris. Following his spectacular victory on Sunday’s gruelling 15th stage, he is now aiming for his next stage win in his speciality.
This could see Evenepoel improve his personal record at the Tour. In 2024, he finished third in the general classification – just as Lipowitz did last year. This year, he could climb one place higher in Paris.
Evenepoel and Lipowitz started the Tour de France as co-captains. In the time trial, specialist Evenepoel is likely to extend his current lead of 1 minute and 48 seconds over Lipowitz, who is in fifth place. “The main aim is to have someone on the podium in Paris,” said Lipowitz. And Evenepoel, he added, has “the best chance of achieving that” with regard to the upcoming stage. Most recently, Lipowitz indicated he was open to taking on a support role.
Evenepoel explores the route
Evenepoel used Monday’s rest day to scout the route for the time trial between Évian-les-Bains and Thonon-les-Bains. Over the 26.1 kilometres of Stage 16, the Olympic and world champion in the discipline is considered the clear favourite. He considers the descent towards the finish to be tricky. “Very fast and very technical, and a bit dangerous too, but that goes for everyone,” he said.
It will also be interesting to see how Evenepoel performs in the gruelling Alpine stages on Friday and Saturday, both of which lead to the iconic Alpe d’Huez. The winner of the 2022 Vuelta a España has recently shown improving form in the mountains. He explained that he intends to conserve as much energy as possible over the two days following the time trial so that he is in peak condition. “I’ll try to ride the best third week of my career.”
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