Stage 16 of the 2026 Tour de France brought the race's only individual time trial: 26.1km from Évian-les-Bains to Thonon-les-Bains, featuring a punchy parcours with 500 metres of climbing that suited the all-rounders far more than the pure specialists.
Remco Evenepoel reminded everyone why he is one of the greatest time triallists of his generation, storming to victory on Belgium's National Day to claim his 26th career TT win. Tadej Pogačar limited his losses superbly to finish second, while Mattias Skjelmose produced an excellent ride for third. Paul Seixas continued his remarkable Tour with fourth, narrowly ahead of Isaac Del Toro as the battle for the white jersey edged even closer.
The overall classification remains largely unchanged. Pogačar still holds a commanding lead, while Evenepoel strengthened his grip on second place, with Jonas Vingegaard now out of the race after the crash on Stage 15. Behind them, however, the fight for the final podium position between Del Toro and Seixas is becoming one of the defining battles of this Tour.
The biggest moment of the day came when Florian Lipowitz crashed heavily midway through his ride, forcing him to abandon the race. His exit reshapes the top 10, promotes a host of riders up the standings, and opens the door for Yannis Voisard to move into the overall top 10.
We also discuss why this wasn't a course designed for pure time trial specialists. Filippo Ganna and Josh Tarling delivered the performances many expected, but on a climbing-heavy route, they were never likely to challenge for victory against riders like Evenepoel and Pogačar.
And we caught up with Pete Kennaugh at the XDS-Astana team hotel on the rest day to hear his thoughts on how the race has unfolded so far, and we tackle the burning question: Was Jonas Vingegaard’s crash a result of the doping test that woke him up in the middle of the night?
Ned Boulting and David Millar break down Stage 16 of the Tour de France 2026.
🎶 Music courtesy of BMG Production Music
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