Evenepoel Wins Tour de France Stage 16, Pogacar Holds Yellow Jersey; Neilands Beats Skujiņš Among Latvians
Remco Evenepoel claimed victory in the Tour de France stage 16 individual time trial, while overall leader Tadej Pogacar maintained a commanding lead. Latvian riders Krists Neilands and Toms Skujiņš finished far behind, with Neilands posting the better time.
After the final rest day, Tour de France riders took on stage 16 on Tuesday – a 26.1-kilometer individual time trial featuring a category 2 climb in the first half.
Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull – Bora – hansgrohe) won the stage, completing the course in 32 minutes and 19 seconds at an average speed of 48.45 km/h. Overall leader Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates – XRG) finished second, 28 seconds slower. Third place went to Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek), who was one minute and four seconds off the pace.
Two Latvian riders competed in different teams. Krists Neilands (NSN team) posted the best result for his squad, crossing the line five minutes and five seconds behind Evenepoel. Toms Skujiņš (Lidl-Trek) was one minute and four seconds slower than Neilands.
In the general classification after 16 stages, Pogacar still holds the lead with a four-minute, 32-second advantage over Evenepoel. Third is Pogacar’s teammate Isaac del Toro, a further two minutes and 19 seconds back. Skujiņš is 93rd overall, while Neilands sits 136th, both more than three hours behind the leader.
Skujiņš is competing in his eighth Tour de France, Neilands in his sixth. Neilands’ best career Tour result is fourth place in a stage in 2023, while Skujiņš finished second in a stage in 2020.
The 113th edition of the race will conclude on July 26 on the Champs-Élysées in Paris. Last year’s champion Pogacar also won the previous edition, with Neilands and Skujiņš finishing 88th and 95th overall, respectively.
