REMCO EVENEPOEL TAKES TIME-TRIAL VICTORY ON STAGE SEVEN OF TOUR DE FRANCE
Belgian Remco Evenepoel claimed his maiden victory on the Tour de France when he prevailed on the seventh stage, a 25.3-km individual time trial from Nuits-Saint-Georges on Friday.
Tour debutant Evenepoel clocked 28 minutes and 52 seconds to beat Tadej Pogacar by 12 seconds as the Slovenian retained the overall leader’s yellow jersey.
Fellow Slovenian Primoz Roglic took third place, 34 seconds off the pace and three seconds ahead of defending champion Jonas Vingegaard, who finished fourth.
Overall, Pogacar leads Evenepoel by 33 seconds and Dane Vingegaard by 1:15.
Reuters
Evenepoel wins time trial: As it happened
04:55 PM BST
It takes it out of you to win!
04:51 PM BST
The thoughts of our stage winner Remco Evenepoel
04:41 PM BST
Top five in the general classification
- Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) 27hrs 16min 23sec
- Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-Quick Step) +33 sec
- Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) +1min 15sec
- Primoz Roglic (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) +1min 36sec
- Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates) +2min 16sec
04:35 PM BST
Top five across the line
- Remco Evenepoel 28min 52sec
- Tadej Pogacar +12sec
- Primoz Roglic +34sec
- Jonas Vingegaard +37sec
- Victor Campenaerts +52sec
04:29 PM BST
Evenepoel wins stage seven!
Pogacar comes across the line but he cannot beat Evenepoel’s time. He finishes 12 seconds down on the Belgian so Remco Evenepoel wins stage seven!
04:27 PM BST
Evenepoel fastest
He may have had a slight gear issue but the Soudal-Quick Step rider is over 30 seconds clear of Roglic with a time of 28mins 52 secs. Will Pogacar beat him or not?
04:26 PM BST
Vingegaard slower than Roglic
That is a surprise. The defending champion was ahead of his former teammate for most of that ride but he comes home three seconds behind.
Behind Evenepoel has had a momentary mechanical issue but has not been bogged down by it. How much time will he have lost from that?
04:22 PM BST
Roglic fastest, for now
The Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe rider comes across the line just under 20 seconds faster than Campenaerts with a time of 29mins 26secs but he will not stay quickest for long...
04:21 PM BST
Inside the final kilometre
Roglic has under 1,000 metres to go but it looks like he is going to lose time to his main rivals.
04:18 PM BST
Second checkpoint
Vingegaard is just shy of 15 seconds faster than Roglic at the top of the hill.
Evenepoel is next to hit that marker and he is flying. He is 23 seconds clear of Vingegaard.
The last man to the second checkpoint is Pogacar, who is ten seconds behind Evenepoel but 13 seconds ahead of Vingegaard. Advantage Evenepoel at the moment.
04:13 PM BST
Roglic on the back foot
Of the big four it is Roglic who is the slowest, around 20 seconds off Evenepoel’s time at the first checkpoint.
04:11 PM BST
Jorgenson into third
Vingegaard’s teammate Matteo Jorgenson has just come across the line in third, two seconds off Campenaerts.
04:10 PM BST
First checkpoint
All the big hitters have gone past the first checkpoint. Vingegaard goes through in nine minutes 50 seconds.
Evenepoel though goes through 11 seconds faster than the defending champion.
Pogacar comes through three seconds behind Evenepoel’s time but eight seconds quicker than Vingegaard.
04:02 PM BST
Calibre
We have some incredible time triallists out there, which is part of the reason why they feature right at the top of the general classification. Vingegaard is going well in the early stages, as is Evenepoel.
04:00 PM BST
Last two get going
Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-Quick Step) and Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) are down the ramp and fireworks are in store over the next half an hour.
03:56 PM BST
Defending champion away
Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) gets going. He had an incredible individual time trial last year but can he replicate that with a similar type of performance today?
Up to the finish Derek Gee (Israel-Premier Tech) comes home in seventh so far, 25 seconds down on Campenaerts.
03:52 PM BST
Big hitters emerge
Primoz Roglic (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) is under way and we have just Ayuso, Vingegaard, Evenepoel and Pogacar to come.
03:44 PM BST
Into the top ten
We are now into the top ten riders in the general classification and the likes of Pogacar, Vingegaard, Evenepoel and Roglic are minutes away from getting started.
03:42 PM BST
Healy falls away as Thomas struggles
Ben Healy was going so well but maybe he went off too quickly as he has dropped away slightly. He was up but he comes home in third, seven seconds down on Campenaerts.
It has been a tough time trial for Thomas, who comes home 90 seconds off the fastest time so far.
03:36 PM BST
Thomas struggling
This is not going well for Geraint Thomas, who is just over halfway through his ride but is over a minute down on the fastest time at that point.
03:34 PM BST
Not to be for Armirail
He may be a two-time French national time trial champion, including this year, but Bruno Armirail finishes 50 seconds down on Campenaerts.
03:28 PM BST
Healy flying
The Irishman from EF Education-EasyPost is flying midway through his ride and is up on our current leader Campenaerts.
03:27 PM BST
Reminder of the final five (BST)
Primoz Roglic (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe)- 15:52
Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates)- 15.54
Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike)- 15.56
Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-Quick Step)- 15.58
Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates)- 16.00
03:24 PM BST
Armirail down
The French two-time national time trial champion is around 30 seconds down with around 10 minutes left of his ride.
03:15 PM BST
Thomas under way
Former Tour de France winner Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers) gets his time trial going.
03:11 PM BST
Bernard loving it!
Julien Bernard (Lidl-Trek) is embracing the home support as he gives high-fives to the fans and whips up the crowd. You very rarely see this! He even stops to give his wife a kiss and hug his son.
03:05 PM BST
Armirail under way
The French national time trial champion Bruno Armirail (Decathlon-Ag2R La Mondiale) is under way.
Up at the finish Nelson Oliveira (Movistar) goes into fifth, around 30 seconds down on Campenaerts.
02:58 PM BST
van Aert finishes
The Visma-Lease a Bike rider is just shy of a minute off Campenaerts and into sixth for now, but he will drop quite a bit between now and the finish. Not Wout’s day.
02:56 PM BST
More riders heading out
The likes of Neilson Powless (EF Education-EasyPost) and Wilco Kelderman (Visma-Lease a Bike) have started their time trials.
02:54 PM BST
Top five as it stands
- Victor Campenaerts (Lotto Dstny) 29min 44sec
- Kévin Vauquelin (Arkéa-B&B Hotels) 29min 44sec
- Stefan Küng (Groupama-FDJ) 29min 52sec
- Stefan Bissegger (EF Education-EasyPost) 30min 06sec
- Oier Lazkano (Movistar) 30min 33sec
02:50 PM BST
When the top five in the GC get going (BST)
Primoz Roglic (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe)- 15:52
Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates)- 15.54
Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike)- 15.56
Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-Quick Step)- 15.58
Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates)- 16.00
02:35 PM BST
Küng across the line
Küng has given it everything but the chain issue has cost him. He finishes eight seconds off Campenaerts and he would have led without that issue.
02:31 PM BST
Campenaerts pips Vauquelin, just!
It is Belgium vs France, the latter was successful in the Euros but this time the former is successful by three quarters of a second! Wow! That was so close but Campenaerts gets it by the smallest of margins. Vauquelin cannot believe it as he has his hands on his head.
02:28 PM BST
Could Campenaerts beat Vauquelin?
This is going to be close as it is neck and neck with Campenaerts hitting the final two kilometres.
02:25 PM BST
van Aert about to start
We are about to see Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike) get his time trial started.
Meanwhile up ahead Küng is 18 seconds down on Vauquelin through the second checkpoint so he has lost at least 20 seconds at the bar minimum from the chain problem.
02:23 PM BST
Campenaerts and Küng
Victor Campenaerts (Lotto Dstny) is very close to Vauquelin at the second checkpoint, just a few seconds down.
Stefan Küng (Groupama-FDJ) was going well but will be so frustrated as has had an issue with his chain.
02:09 PM BST
Vauquelin fastest
He can! The Frenchman comes across the line in a time of 29mins 44secs, which is 21 seconds faster than Bissegger. That is the first time we have seen under the 30-minute mark today.
02:08 PM BST
Vauquelin on track for first?
The Arkéa-B&B Hotels rider is into the final kilometre and looks set to go to the top of the timesheets. Can he close it out to take the lead for the time being?
02:06 PM BST
Küng and Tratnik going
The likes of Stefan Küng (Groupama-FDJ) and Jan Tratnik (Visma-Lease a Bike) are just getting their efforts under way.
02:00 PM BST
Vauquelin going well
Kévin Vauquelin (Arkéa-B&B Hotels) has made a very strong start to this time trial and at the first timing point, he is 30 seconds faster than Bissegger. Vauquelin, who is on his Tour debut, won stage two into Bologna.
01:56 PM BST
Lazkano second
We have a new entry into the top three as Movistar’s Oier Lazkano has moved above his compatriot Garcia Pierna with a time of 30min 33sec, 27 seconds off Bissegger’s time.
01:53 PM BST
van der Poel under way
The man who won the Men’s road race at the 2023 UCI Road World Championships, Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck), has got his individual time trial going.
01:52 PM BST
Emptying the tank
This is what they put into the individual time trial to have a chance of a stage victory:
01:46 PM BST
Last five off (BST)
Here are when the top five in the general classification get their time trials going:
Primoz Roglic (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe)- 15:52
Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates)- 15.54
Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike)- 15.56
Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-Quick Step)- 15.58
Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates)- 16.00
01:39 PM BST
Top three movement
After Stefan Bissegger set the quickest time so far, we have had two new additions to the top three as Raul Garcia Pierna (Arkéa-B&B Hotels) and Michael Matthews (Jayco-Alula) have put themselves into second and third respectively.
01:32 PM BST
Changes at the top as Bissegger goes fastest
Nils Politt (UAE Team Emirates) goes across the line into first, 25 seconds faster than Luke Durbridge, but he will have no time to go and sit on the leader’s throne as Stefan Bissegger (EF Education-EasyPost) sets the new fastest time with a 30 minute 6 seconds time, over 40 seconds clear of Politt.
01:26 PM BST
Bissegger looking strong
I suspect in the next 10 minutes we will have a new leader in the shape of Stefan Bissegger, who has just over 5km to go and is going well.
01:22 PM BST
New leader!
We have a change at the top of the timesheets as Luke Durbridge (Jayco-Alula) sets a time of 31 minutes and 14 seconds, 26 seconds faster than the previous leader Lenny Martinez. It was a great day for the Jayco-Alula team yesterday as Dylan Groenewegen won the sprint into Dijon and Durbridge for the time being goes fastest.
Behind at the second checkpoint Stefan Bissegger (EF Education-EasyPost) is going really well.
01:11 PM BST
Cavendish done and dusted
The first man to get his time trial going today was Mark Cavendish (Astana Qazaqstan), who finished in a time of 33 minutes and 21 seconds.
01:08 PM BST
Reconnaissance ride
The man who is currently in possession of the yellow jersey, Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates), has been out this morning checking out the route from Nuits-Saint-Georges to Gevrey-Chambertin.
10:43 AM BST
Starting times for every rider in today’s time trial
Mark Cavendish (Astana Qazaqstan) will be the first down the starting ramp at 12.05pm, with race leader Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) setting of last at 4pm. Please note that the times listed below are central European times, so please take off an hour if you are following from the United Kingdom.
10:40 AM BST
Welcome to the ‘race of truth’
Hello, good afternoon and welcome to our live rolling blog from stage seven at the Tour de France, the 25.3 kilometre individual time trial from Nuits-Saint-Georges and Gevrey-Chambertin.
Despite its relatively flat profile – the stage features just 300 metres in vertical elevation – the course features a short climb with one kilometre of it at an average of seven per cent.
With a second short rise that pitches up to around six per cent, it is widely expected that the course will suit the general classification riders, rather than the out-and-out testers. So good news for Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates), Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-Quick Step) and Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease A Bike), less so for Stefan Küng (Groupama-FDJ) or Swiss compatriot Stefan Bissegger (EF Education-Easypost).
The smart money for the stage win today will be on Evenepoel. The world time trial champion blew away the field at last month’s time trial at the Critérium du Dauphiné, but since then has last a reported 2½ kilograms. The Belgian, who is making his Tour debut, is looking the leanest Telegraph Sport has ever seen him. It will be interesting to see how his sustained power has, if at all, been affected by that weight loss. From a British perspective, one suspects the top brass at British Cycling will be watching this race closely as they prepare for the upcoming Olympics. Welshman Josh Tarling will be heading to Paris as one of the favourites, along with Evenepoel, and so the number-crunchers will, most likely, be monitoring the Soudal-Quick Step man’s performance this afternoon.
As tradition dictates, riders will roll down the starting ramp in reverse order of the general classification standings, and so lanterne rouge Mark Cavendish (Astana Qazaqstan) will be the first of, at 12.05pm. The first 58 riders will set off with one-minute intervals, before that gap between riders extends to 1min 30sec. The final 10 riders will be separated by intervals of two minutes.
Coverage from today’s stage will get under way at 1.15pm.
- Preview by John MacLeary