In a stunning display of speed and skill, Remco Evenepoel narrowed Tadej Pogacar's lead in the general classification by 28 seconds with a dominant victory in the time trial on stage 16 of the Tour de France.

Completing the 26.1km course along the picturesque shores of Lake Geneva in 32 minutes and 19 seconds, the 26-year-old Belgian secured his second consecutive stage win, following his triumph in the mountainous 15th stage on Sunday.

Pogacar, representing Slovenia, finished the stage in 32 minutes and 47 seconds, seeing his overall lead reduced to 4 minutes and 32 seconds. The rest of the competitors lagged over a minute behind, with Denmark's Mattias Skjelmose claiming third place.

Evenepoel expressed his joy, noting the significance of his victory on Belgium's national day. "It's amazing, it was a very nice time-trial with a lot of people on the side of the road," he stated. He added, "I read this morning it's been a while since Belgium won on national day, so I'm proud to be the one. My whole family from both sides being here, my parents came just today. My wife is here with her parents and the siblings as well."

However, the day was marred by the unfortunate injury of Evenepoel's team-mate, Florian Lipowitz, who was forced to withdraw after a crash. Having been fifth in the standings and recording the fourth fastest time in three intermediate checks, Lipowitz's crash was a bitter pill to swallow for the team. Evenepoel wished him a swift recovery, stating, "That's very unfortunate, it's like a bitter-sweet pill to swallow with this victory, so I wish him all the best and I hope it's not too bad."