Sunday’s gruelling first foray into the Alps was followed by a well-deserved rest day. Riders have therefore recharged their batteries for a 26.1-kilometre time trial between Évian-les-Bains and Thonon-les-Bains, featuring a Category 2 climb (the Côte de Larringes / 9.7 km at 4.3%) which will raise the intensity right from the start, before the riders race at full speed towards the finish. And with a gap of 2’28” between second and seventh place in the general classification, every second gained in Haute-Savoie could prove decisive between now and the finish in Paris.
Winner of the time trials at La Planche des Belles Filles (2020), Laval (2021), Nice (2024) and Peyragudes (2025), Tadej Pogacar (UAE Emirates XRG) is one of the masters of the time trial at the Tour de France. The Yellow Jersey has the chance to take his tally of stage wins to 26, bringing him a little closer to Bernard Hinault (28), Eddy Merckx (34) and Mark Cavendish (35).
To do so, he will have to beat other specialists in the discipline, starting with Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), Olympic champion (2024) and three-time reigning world champion (2023–24–25). The Belgian secured his first Tour stage victories in time trials (Gevrey-Chambertin 2024, Caen 2025), before winning on Sunday at the Plateau de Solaison. This should boost his confidence even further.
One might think that the excellent Filippo Ganna (Netcompany Ineos), a two-time world champion (2020–21), would be at a disadvantage due to the presence of the Larringes climb on the route. But his performance on the slopes of Montjuïc, where he led his team to second place, dispels any doubts. He now has a golden opportunity to become a three-time Grand Tour winner, having won time trials at the Giro and La Vuelta. Only Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) outperformed him in Barcelona, but the Dane withdrew from the race after crashing on the approach to the Plateau de Solaison.
Tobias Foss, the final pacesetter from the Netcompany Ineos team to accompany Ganna up Montjuïc, also has his own strengths to bring to bear as an individual on the route to Thonon-les-Bains. The British team is filled with powerhouses and it will also be interesting to see what Thymen Arensman and Kévin Vauquelin can do on this course.
The 2024 Junior World Champion, Paul Seixas (Decathlon CMA CGM), recently dominated the time trial at the Tour of the Basque Country – his first victory in this discipline at professional level, which is sure to lead to further successes. The time gained here will be invaluable in the quest for a podium finish and the white jersey against Isaac del Toro (UAE Emirates XRG), who leads him by just 25 seconds. Other riders skilled in this discipline, such as Bruno Armirail (Visma-Lease a Bike), a three-time French time trial champion (2022, 2024, 2025), will be ones to watch.
