“If you start too quickly, you can pay the price” – Pacing plan key for Remco Evenepoel as Tour de France time trial gives chance to solidify 2nd overall
CyclingTuesday, 21 July 2026 at 14:30
Remco Evenepoel will target back-to-back stage victories at the Tour de France on Tuesday, but Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe have warned that the Belgian cannot afford to become overexcited during the stage 16 individual time trial.
Evenepoel begins the 26.1-kilometre test from Evian-les-Bains to Thonon-les-Bains as the favourite for victory, two days after beating Tadej Pogacar at the summit of Plateau de Solaison.
That result moved him into second overall, five minutes behind the yellow jersey and 58 seconds ahead of third-placed Isaac del Toro.
The time trial therefore offers Evenepoel an opportunity to complete a rare double while establishing a more comfortable advantage over the riders chasing him in the general classification.
Evenepoel warned against fast start
Although the distance is relatively short, the opening section of the course makes careful pacing particularly important. Riders begin by climbing towards the category-two Côte de Larringes, which rises for 9.7 kilometres at an average gradient of 4.3%.
Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe sports director Klaas Lodewyck confirmed that the team have prepared a clear strategy for Evenepoel’s effort. “We definitely have a pacing plan. If you start too quickly, you can pay the price,” Lodewyck told VTM Nieuws ahead of the stage.
The route contains approximately 500 metres of climbing before descending towards the flatter closing kilometres beside Lake Geneva. Evenepoel will need to manage his effort on the long opening rise without sacrificing the power required for the faster second half.
That balance could be especially important after his efforts on stage 15, when he followed Pogacar throughout the steep ascent of Plateau de Solaison before beating the Slovenian in the sprint. It was Evenepoel’s first Tour de France road-stage victory and immediately shifted attention towards his favoured discipline after Monday’s rest day.
Remco Evenepoel is out for back-to-back stage wins
Evenepoel has previously won Tour time trials, but a second successive victory would underline the turnaround in his race after an inconsistent second week.
Ganna and Tarling also expected to challenge
Pogacar is among the leading contenders for the stage, but Lodewyck does not view the yellow jersey as Evenepoel’s only threat. “I think Ganna and Tarling, who may have been able to conserve a little more energy up to this point, will also ride strong time trials here,” he said.
Filippo Ganna and Joshua Tarling both arrive without the same general classification demands as Evenepoel and Pogacar, allowing them to focus entirely on the stage victory. The rolling course may suit the more complete GC riders, however, rather than providing a straightforward test for the pure specialists.
For Evenepoel, the day carries consequences beyond the stage result. Del Toro is only 58 seconds behind, while Paul Seixas, Florian Lipowitz and Juan Ayuso all remain within two-and-a-half minutes of second place before three further Alpine stages.
A strong performance would give Evenepoel valuable protection before the race returns to the mountains. Victory would also take him to two stage wins in three days and strengthen his position as Pogacar’s nearest challenger heading into the decisive final week.
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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- OK, this is my take: Jonas didn't want to crash and break his collar bone... BUT ... at this moment Jonas, despite his injury, looks like he's in a good mood. Do you all know why? Because he knew, his team knew, they will never beat Pogačar...NEVER !!! Jonas is thinkig; "Thank god, it's over. My suffering against Pogi is over. Officially I didn't lose TdF, because I didn't finish." There will always be some people who will say "Maybe Jonas would have won if he hadn't crashed, you never know." We all see what BS is coming out of Marc Reef's mouth: "We had the race in our hands, and we were ready to give it a shot with him." ... He's trying to tell us between the lines: "Pogi is lucky, that Jonas crashed, he would have beaten him in week three, and won TdF." What a clown!!!mus-musculuspeedypogigonzales21-07-2026
- Terrible news of Florian Lipowitz crashing out. Wish him speedy recovery. It just reinforces the fact that victory is never certain until a rider crosses the finish line in Paris. I think the top 3 podium spots are going to be fought between Pogacar, Remco, Del Toro and Seixas barring any accidents.
PogiFan2Day21-07-2026 - If Paul rides within himself and only nears red on the final three mountain stages he will be on the podium. I said before the Tour started I didn't expect anything from him this Tour and that a top five, even a top ten would be an absolute success beyond imagination, being this is his first GT, if he podiums he needs to take a deal with Ineos immediately and he needs to run that team like Wiggins and Froome did.awp21-07-2026
- They didn't have the race in hand, they had the podium in hand.awp21-07-2026
- INEOS is getting worse. Not a top dog anymore.
KerisVroom21-07-2026 - They are testing but are they Lance era testing or active testing. Lance era was "oh, looks a bit high but he is a big drawl...it's fine". Active is, positive pull them out of the race and banmd197521-07-2026
- it hinders recover if you're using epo for recoverywhkman21-07-2026
- Success usually corrupts and makes one arrogant. This is very impressive.KerisVroom21-07-2026
- Marc Reef: We had the race in our hands, and we were ready to give it a shot with him We had the race in our hands? Someone else needs to be tested for something else with this comment. Jonas was barely top 5 the day prior.mij21-07-2026
- this is a ridiculous comment, no basis behind this.mij21-07-2026
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