Remco Evenepoel won the Tour de France’s only individual time trial on Tuesday, beating race leader Tadej Pogačar by 28 seconds and strengthening his hold on second place overall.

The Belgian completed the 26.1-kilometre route from Évian-les-Bains to Thonon-les-Bains in 32 minutes and 19 seconds. The course combined an early climb with a fast descent and technical final section beside Lake Geneva, rewarding both sustained power and precise bike handling.

Pogačar finished second and limited his losses on a stage expected to favour the reigning world time-trial champion. He remains firmly in control of the yellow jersey, leading Evenepoel by four minutes and 32 seconds with five stages remaining.

Mattias Skjelmose placed third on the stage, one minute and four seconds behind Evenepoel. Paul Seixas was fourth and Isaac del Toro fifth, adding another small shift to the fight for the final podium place.

Del Toro remains third overall, six minutes and 51 seconds behind Pogačar, while Seixas is only 20 seconds further back. The margins behind the dominant race leader leave the lower podium positions much less secure than the yellow jersey itself.

The stage was overshadowed by a heavy crash involving Florian Lipowitz. The German rider, who began the day fifth overall, fell on a corner about eight kilometres from the finish and was forced to abandon the race.

Lipowitz’s withdrawal removes one of the leading contenders from the general-classification battle and leaves Evenepoel as the clear focus of his team’s remaining campaign. It also brings a sudden end to what had been another strong Tour for the German.

Evenepoel’s victory was his second consecutive stage win after his success at Plateau de Solaison before the rest day. The result confirms his status as the strongest challenger behind Pogačar, even if the overall gap remains too large to close without a major shift in the mountain stages.

Evenepoel won the day, but Pogačar still controls the race. The Belgian’s more realistic task may now be defending second place while testing whether any weakness appears during the final Alpine stages.

Stage 17 from Chambéry to Voiron offers a flatter profile and could provide an opportunity for sprinters or a breakaway before the Tour returns to the mountains for the decisive final days.