“I feel great, but I’m really going to miss him” – Remco Evenepoel’s Tour de France time trial triumph clouded by Florian Lipowitz exit
CyclingTuesday, 21 July 2026 at 18:16
Remco Evenepoel celebrated one of his strongest performances of the season after winning the stage 16 time trial at the Tour de France, but the Belgian’s victory was overshadowed by the loss of teammate Florian Lipowitz.
Evenepoel beat Tadej Pogacar by 28 seconds on the 26.1-kilometre course from Evian-les-Bains to Thonon-les-Bains, securing back-to-back stage wins and reducing his deficit to the yellow jersey to 4:32.
The result confirmed a sharp rise in form after a difficult opening week, yet the mood inside Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe was tempered by Lipowitz’s heavy crash and subsequent abandonment.
“It was a very good time trial,” Evenepoel said. “Both sides of my family are here. My parents arrived today, and my wife, her sister and her two brothers are also here. I’m proud to win on the Belgian national holiday.”
Evenepoel back at his best
Evenepoel controlled the time trial from the opening kilometres, gaining six seconds on Pogacar at the first checkpoint before extending that advantage on the Côte de Larringes.
He reached the summit 14 seconds ahead of the yellow jersey and continued to gain time through the technical descent and flatter finish. Pogacar remained his closest challenger throughout, but Evenepoel nearly doubled the gap over the final section.
The performance followed his stage 15 victory and marked a clear change from the opening days of the Tour, when the Belgian had admitted he was still searching for his best condition.
“I feel great. It has been a while since I raced at this level,” he said. “It feels brilliant to be able to ride like this again. In the first week of the Tour, I didn’t feel that I was in really great shape. Now I do. And it isn’t over yet.”
Evenepoel remains a long way from Pogacar in the general classification, but his consecutive victories have strengthened his grip on second place and restored momentum before the final mountain stages.
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Lipowitz loss takes shine off victory
The day changed dramatically for Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe when Lipowitz crashed on the technical descent.
The German missed a bend, went over the handlebars and landed heavily on his shoulder. He remained on the ground before being placed on a stretcher and taken away by ambulance, bringing his Tour to an abrupt end.
Lipowitz had started the stage fifth overall and had combined his own general classification ambitions with an important support role for Evenepoel. His departure leaves the Belgian without one of his strongest climbing teammates for the final week.
“That is a bitter pill to swallow,” Evenepoel said. “Of course, I wish him all the best. I’m really going to miss him during the final week.”
Evenepoel left Thonon-les-Bains with another stage win, his best form of the race and a reduced deficit to Pogacar. Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe, however, also left without the rider who had given the team a second presence near the top of the general classification.
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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- Don’t know about that specifically but usually if a moto makes it a bike can too.Jumpyjohn21-07-2026
- Thanks, Am a bit surprised to have just seen other valid and relevant Vaughters comments elsewhere (very much aligned with mine) that were not included here.Jumpyjohn21-07-2026
- Campy is not at fault, the race moto literally decided the path, you follow the race motos alwaysabstractengineer21-07-2026
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- They will probably get him, they are in the bidding and it makes sense for him to go there where he could have a year or two to develop.awp21-07-2026
- Ineos don’t deserve a rider like that. In it for the wrong reasons.Mistermaumau21-07-2026
- What are you on about? I was taking about UCI fines not fines given to the general public?? Where is the outlay not being worth it when a rider for instance is fined 500 CHF for not presenting a bike in time for inspection. Then a further 500 CHF for that riders DS for the same offence.Alex Baudin was fined 500 CHF for taking a feed on foot outside the designated feeding zone. His sports director, Charles Wegelius, was also fined 500 CHF. Easy money I would say for minimal outlay!Cyclingsbestfan21-07-2026
- So a Dutch guy says something in not his native language, and people jump in as hard as they can to slaughter him! If everything that comes out of our mouths is dissected like this, we’d all constantly be looking like idiots. I’d be pretty certain he’s not claiming or imagining they were in control of the winning of the race, and I’d just cut him some slack!AndrewK21-07-2026
- Considering the level of superstardom he has achieved he remains remarkably down to earth and comes across as an all round pretty good person.mobk21-07-2026
- What a terrible crash. May he recover quickly and well. He’s been racing very well, and Remco was going to need him in the coming mountain stages.RidesHills21-07-2026
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