Evenepoel’s stunning time trial win as Pogačar takes Tour de France yellow jersey

CAEN, France (AP) — Race-against-the-clock specialist Remco Evenepoel produced a stunning display of power to win the first time trial of the Tour de France on Wednesday and defending champion Tadej Pogačar cemented his favorite status by grabbing the yellow jersey.

Evenepoel, the reigning time trial Olympic and world champion, was expected to win the stage in the absence of time trial specialists — Filippo Ganna and Stefan Bissegger, who both crashed and exited the race on the first day of the Tour last week.

The mainly flat 33-kilometer (20.5-mile) stage 5 in Normandy favored powerful riders like Evenepoel, who already had won a time trial in a similiar fashion last year, when the Belgian rider finished third overall in the general classification.

Evenepoel, who has fully recovered from multiple injuries sustained in a big crash last year, was 16 seconds faster than Pogačar. Edoardo Affini, the time trial European champion, was third, 33 seconds off the pace.

Tucked on his bike in a perfect aerodynamic position, Evenepoel was in a class of his own. He made the most of the back wind in the second half of the race, reaching the finish at an average speed of more than 54 kph (33.5 mph).

“I didn’t really feel like I could go any faster,” Evenepoel said.

But the day’s big winner was Pogačar, who was back in the yellow jersey a day after taking his 100th career win. The three-time Tour winner opened a big gap on his main rival Jonas Vingegaard, who endured a bad day and lost more than one minute to his rival from Slovenia.

Pogačar, the UAE Team Emirates-XRG leader, blasted off the starting ramp and set up a very high tempo from the start. He could not match Evenepoel’s performance but his strong challenge put him at the top of the overall standings, with a 42-second lead over Evenepoel. Frenchman Kévin Vauquelin was in third place overall, 59 seconds off the pace.

“To be 16 seconds behind the world champion, Olympic champion, the best time trialist probably right now in the world, I’m super, super happy,” Pogačar said. “I lost a little bit to Remco but gained on the others, it’s a very good day.”

Pogačar found himself holding the yellow jersey, the green jersey for best sprinter and the polka dot jersey for best climber. It’s unclear whether Pogačar will want to defend the yellow jersey so early in the race before the big mountain stages.

“The most important is the yellow, and to have it on the Champs-Elysees on the finish line in Paris,” Pogačar said.

Evenepoel was satisfied that he moved up to second place overall, yet downplayed his chances of winning the Tour.

“It’s a big step towards the podium but there’s still a long way to go,” Evenepoel said. “Everybody knows what’s coming next week and the week after. One year, I will come to win the Tour but it’s a bit too early this year.”

Vingegaard was never in the mix and now lags 1:13 behind Pogačar, in fourth place overall. Previous leader Mathieu van der Poel, who was under no illusion he could keep the coveted yellow jersey, dropped to sixth place, 1:28 back.

Grischa Niermann, the head of racing at Vingegaard’s Team Visma-Lease a Bike, said the Danish rider “did not have enough power today.”

Thursday’s stage

Stage 6 will take the peloton from Bayeux to Vire in a region of France known as Norman Switzerland featuring some high hills and stunning views. The stage finale should be spectacular with the Côte de Vaudry likely to feature some attacks from top contenders before an uphill finish with a 10% gradient.

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