Skjelmose Takes Tour Stage 16 Time-Trial Third in 33:23 as Evenepoel Wins 26.1km Test

Q: Evenepoel won the stage, but did losing his top teammate just cost him the entire Tour de France?

Yes — it may not have cost Remco Evenepoel the Tour outright, but Florian Lipowitz’s withdrawal is a major blow that makes overturning Tadej Pogacar’s lead much harder. Evenepoel did exactly what he needed in Stage 16, winning the time trial and taking 28 seconds out of Pogacar. But he is still 4 minutes 32 seconds down with the hardest mountain stages still to come, including the final Alpine block and Alpe d’Huez. Against a rider of Pogacar’s level, that is still a very large deficit. What makes Lipowitz’s loss so damaging is not just his quality, but his role. He was not a routine helper; he was Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe’s co-leader, fifth overall before the crash, and a proven Grand Tour rider after finishing third in the 2025 Tour. His presence gave the team tactical depth: he could climb with the best, force rivals to react, help pace Evenepoel in the mountains, or serve as a second GC threat. That option is now gone. In practical terms, Evenepoel is more likely to be isolated when UAE Team Emirates-XRG applies pressure in the mountains. Pogacar still has a strong overall lead and a team structure better suited to defending it. Evenepoel can still win if he is exceptional in the final week and Pogacar shows weakness, but the margin for error is now much smaller. So the stage win kept Evenepoel alive in the race. Losing Lipowitz probably did not end his Tour on the spot, but it significantly reduced his chances of taking yellow.

Q: Was this a dominant victory for Evenepoel, or a strategic masterclass in damage control by the untouchable Tadej Pogacar?

It was both, but more clearly a dominant stage victory by Remco Evenepoel and a highly effective damage-limitation ride by Tadej Pogacar. Evenepoel did exactly what the stage demanded from a specialist of his caliber. On a 26.1km course that suited a pure time-trial expert, he was the heavy favorite and delivered decisively, winning in 32:19 at 48.45 km/h. He was fastest at every checkpoint, took his second straight stage, and beat Pogacar by 28 seconds. Against the rest of the field, the margin looked even stronger: Mattias Skjelmose in third was much further back, underlining that Evenepoel was operating on a different level in his discipline. At the same time, Pogacar’s ride was a textbook example of controlled damage control rather than weakness. He finished second on the stage, limited his loss to under half a minute against a three-time world time trial champion, and kept a commanding overall lead of 4 minutes 32 seconds. Given the Tour’s mountainous final week and his cushion in yellow, Pogacar had little need to take excessive risks for a stage win. So the result does not suggest Pogacar was exposed. It shows that Evenepoel was outstanding in his specialty, while Pogacar remained untouchable where it mattered most: the general classification. Evenepoel won the day emphatically; Pogacar still controls the race comfortably.

3 articles · Updated · Trek Race Shop · Jul 21

Mattias Skjelmose clocked 33 minutes 23 seconds to finish third in Tour de France Stage 16, briefly holding the fastest time at the line in Thonon-les-Bains.
The 26km hilly time trial turned when world champion Remco Evenepoel beat that mark to win, and yellow jersey Tadej Pogacar also went quicker than the Dane.
Skjelmose said Lidl-Trek deliberately gambled on an all-out start to "make a statement," a plan he said paid off on a day when he could sustain the effort.
Lidl-Trek still left Stage 16 well placed for the final week, with Juan Ayuso fifth and Skjelmose sixth overall, while Mads Pedersen leads the points classification.