photo credits @ Le Tour
The yellow jersey changed hands following today’s individual time trial in Caen, as reigning world and Olympic time trial champion Remco Evenepoel excelled at his specialty by completing the 33-kilometer course in a winning time of 36 minutes, 42 seconds. Evenepoel overcame a slow stretch during the middle of his run to finish 16 seconds faster than defending defending champion Tadej Pogačar.
However, Pogačar’s strong run vaulted him into the general classification lead after he was tied with Mathieu van der Poel atop the standings entering the stage. Pogačar now leads Evenepoel by a total of 42 seconds. Van der Poel finished one minute, 44 seconds behind Evenepoel’s winning time and fell back to sixth place overall.
In addition to the claiming the yellow jersey as the race’s overall leader, Pogačar moved into the points lead and added the green jersey to the polka dot one he already had as the Tour’s top climber.
The Slovenian is the first rider since Eddie Merckx in the 1970s to hold all three of the main jerseys — the general classification, points and king of the mountains.
“I’m super happy with how I rode today, to be 16 seconds behind the world champion, the Olympic champion, the best time trialist in the world right now,” Pogacar said after the stage. “It’s a very good day, and I’m happy, but I’m just happy this day is over and we can keep the ball rolling in this Tour de France.
“The most important (jersey) is yellow, and the most important time to have it is on the Champs-Elysees at the finish line.
“Now, it’s not that important. It feels good, but the important thing is to have it in Paris.”
Today was Evenepoel’s second stage win on the Tour de France, having triumphed in the time trial in Gevrey-Chambertin last year on his debut in the French Grand Tour.
“I knew I had a good chance but, of course, the legs still have to be there and everything has to go to plan,” said Evenepoel whose Soudal Quick-Step teammate Tim Merlier won Stage 3 two days ago. “In the end, I think it was pretty good. I didn’t really feel like I could go any faster, so I think in general, I’m happy with the result.
“It’s a second stage win for our team, it’s super nice.
“As for me, I’ve taken a step towards the podium but there’s still a long way to go.”
Two-time TDF winner Jonas Vingegaard, who began the day just eight seconds behind Van der Poel, had a poor day, as the Dane could only finish 13th in the stage — 1 minute, 21 seconds behind Evenepoel — to slip to 1 minute, 13 seconds behind Pogacar in the new standings.
He drops to fourth overall, with local rider Kevin Vauquelin moving up to third after a hugely impressive ride that saw him finish fifth on the day.
“I’m over the moon, really,” said an emotional Vauquelin. “I think I can only experience this once in my life. To see everyone looking at me, cheering me on, it’s incredible. For a 24-year-old just starting out in the professional world, it’s just incredible.”
Dutchman Van der Poel also struggled to maintain the pace, coming in 18th, 1minute, 44 seconds behind the winner, dropping him down to sixth overall.
Evenepoel was the nailed-on favorite to win the stage, given his astonishing record in time trials.
The Flemish rider, who has been wearing a golden helmet since his Olympic double, is virtually invincible in this exercise.
He has won the last six time-trial stages in which he has taken part, and nine out of 12 since the start of 2024. This was his 64th career victory, of which 21 have come in time trials.
Evenepoel also was impressed by the performance of Pogacar, who was a distant third to the Belgian and Vingegaard in the time trial in the recent Criterium du Dauphine.
“Compared to the Dauphine, he took a big step forward,” Evenepoel said. “He showed that he’s in great form and that he’s the man to beat in this Tour.”
Tomorrow serves up the second-longest stage of this year’s Tour, with 3,500 meters of elevation over a 201.5-kilometer route through Normandy, which starts in Vauquelin’s home town of Bayeux and ends with a short, steep climb to the finish in Vire Normandie.
