Evenepoel secures Tour de France stage win as doping test controversy continues
Remco Evenepoel secured consecutive stage victories in the Tour de France, narrowing the overall lead held by Tadej Pogacar. Evenepoel, an Olympic road and time trial champion, claimed victory in the stage 16 time trial, which stretched from Evian to Thonon-les-Bains.
The Belgian rider finished 28 seconds ahead of Pogacar, reducing the Slovenian’s advantage to just over four and a half minutes. This marks Evenepoel’s third career time trial win in the Tour, and he now holds second place in the overall standings.
Evenepoel expressed his satisfaction, stating it had been some time since he performed at this level, and he felt great to be in such strong form during the Tour. He acknowledged Pogacar as a “superstar” and noted that the race was not yet concluded, with several challenging stages still to come.
Despite Evenepoel’s success, his team, Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, faced a setback with the withdrawal of teammate Florian Lipowitz. Lipowitz, who had been third in the Tour last year, crashed on a tight right-hand bend after a downhill section and was confirmed to have suffered a broken collarbone. He was the second rider from the 2025 podium to exit the race within 72 hours, following Jonas Vingegaard‘s departure on Sunday.
Evenepoel described the victory as “bittersweet” due to Lipowitz’s injury, stating he would miss his teammate for the final week of the competition. The Belgian also thanked his bike supplier, Specialized, for new materials provided for the time trial.
In the overall standings, Pogacar’s teammate, Isaac del Toro, remains in third place. However, Paul Seixas is now only 20 seconds behind a podium position after gaining time on del Toro during the time trial. New Zealand riders Aaron Gate and George Bennett finished well behind the main field in the time trial, placing 110th and 154th respectively. Bennett is 81st overall, while Gate is 128th.
Doping test controversy
The ongoing debate surrounding the ITA drug testing agency’s nocturnal activities continued. This included visits to Vingegaard at 2am and Pogacar at 5am last Sunday for testing. The decision to conduct these tests outside the usual 6am to 11pm window has drawn criticism, despite being authorised by the Paris prosecutor’s office.
Jonathan Vaughters, manager of the EF Education EasyPost team, commented on the situation, suggesting that obtaining a warrant from a French judge, who may not be a sports scientist or haematologist, would likely not be difficult given the sport’s history. Vaughters affirmed his support for the ITA, viewing the testing as an example of their work, but questioned the significance of the judicial warrant.
Pascal Chanteur, vice-president of the CPA, an association representing professional riders, also criticised the Paris prosecutor’s involvement, stating that the judge had no knowledge of cycling. The CPA supports night-time testing if sufficient evidence exists, according to Chanteur, who also suggested that the differing test times for Vingegaard and Pogacar were due to the ITA’s limited resources.
The French sports code mandates that testing procedures must maintain proportionality between infringing an athlete’s rights and the objectives of anti-doping efforts. Olivier Banuls, the ITA’s director of testing, previously stated in May that the agency focuses on targeted testing rather than mass testing to avoid wasting resources.
The results of the tests on both riders have not yet been disclosed. The race is set to continue on Thursday with a 174.7km flat stage from Chambery to Voiron.
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Source: theguardian.com
