Tour de France LIVE: Jonas Vingegaard blows away Tadej Pogacar to win stage 16 time trial
The yellow jersey holder extended his lead to 1’ 48” in the GC standings
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Your support makes all the difference.Jonas Vingegaard took a huge leap towards clinching a second Tour de France triumph in as many years with a barnstorming performance in the individual time trial on Stage 16. The 22km route from Passy to Combloux proved no trouble for the yellow jersey holder who flew out of the blocks and never let up.
Earlier in the day, France’s Remi Cavagna set the pace and led the way for most of the afternoon before being pipped by Jumbo-Visma’s Wout van Aert.
When the two general classification rivals, Vingegaard and Tadej Pogacar, heading out for their runs it was clear they were miles ahead of the rest of the field. Pogacar decided to switch from a time trial bike to a road one with 56km and a steep climb to go which cost him vital seconds.
It made no difference in the end though due to Vingegaard’s display. He finished 1’ 38” ahead of Pogacar and is now almost two minutes ahead in the GC standings with five days of the Tour left to go.
Relive all the latest from today’s stage 16 below:
Tour de France stage 16
The big question for today’s racers is whether to change bike for the final hill or not.
The time trial bike is necessary to record the quickest times from the fifth kilometre to the bottom of the climb but it is a hindrance up such a steep slope.
Norway’s national time trial champion, Soren Waerenskold, is the first to switch to a different bike for climbing but it’s not a very fast change which could prove counter productive.
Tour de France stage 16
Michael Morkov gets over the line. He set out as the first rider and finishes the course in 39’ 46” 22. That’s the benchmark for the rest of the field but expect the winner of today’s stage to beat that time by five or six minutes.
Tour de France stage 16
Most of the riders will be aiming to just get through this stage as quickly as possible. They’ll try to make the time cut and then get back to the hotel so they can relax ahead of tomorrow’s ride.
This is stage for the competitiors hoping to win. The ones that want to earn the yellow jersey or a stage win, the King of the Mountains challenges or any top 10 GC finisher looking to gain time.
Tour de France stage 16
Mikkel Bjerg has just started his run.
He won the ITT at last month’s Critérium du Dauphiné ahead of compatriot Jonas Vingegaard. Will he be allowed to try and win today’s stage or have UAE Team Emirates told him to save energy to help out teammate Tadej Pogacar tomorrow?
We’ll find out in around half an hour.
Tour de France stage 16
Michael Morkov has reached the Côte de Domancy as he moves into the final 5km of the trial. This category two climb has an average gradient of 9.4% but reaches slopes of 13% in parts.
On a time trial bike, this is an added complication that the competitiors need to overcome.
Tour de France stage 16
Nils Eekhoff falls too!
He’s the second DSM rider, and third overall, to crash at the first curve. The riders still to come will need to be aware of this bend, it’s taking no prisoners if the line and speed is slightly off.
Tour de France stage 16
Alexis Renard dropped his chain after falling at the first corner, requiring assistance from a team mechanic to get him moving again. That’s going to put a big dent in his time for today’s trial.
Dutch sprinter, Cees Bol, was due to go out second but didn’t. He was a little late to the start but has not abandoned and is out on the course.
Tour de France stage 16
Kazakhstan’s Yevgeniy Fedorov is riding with the Asian champion jersey.
He won the continental time trial championship in Thailand last month ahead of Taiwan’s Sergio Tu who is a member of Bahrain Victorious in this Tour.
Up front, Michael Morkov has 13km to go as his time ticks just over 14 minutes.
Tour de France stage 16
John Degenkolb is down! The German hits the first bend, not at the quickest speed, but the bike slips from under him and he hits the deck.
Degenkolb is okay though and manages to get back up to carry on.
Alexis Renard of Team Cofidis falls at the same corner and assesses the damage to his bike. It seems to be a tricky one to get round in these early stages.
Tour de France stage 16
There are three time checks on today’s stage, at 7.1km, at 16.1km and at 18.9km.
All the riders will set off on time trial bikes but there is speculation that several will switch to road bikes before hitting the final climb to the finish.
Whether that actually happens remains to be seen.
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