Remco Evenepoel took his first stage win in the individual time trial at the Tour de France. Tadej Pogacar defended the yellow jersey.
The 24-year-old time trial world champion from Team Soudal Quick-Step won on Friday (05.07.24) after a demanding 25.3 km on the seventh stage in Burgundy in 28:52 minutes ahead of leader Tadej Pogacar (UAE Emirates/+0:12 minutes) and Primoz Roglic (Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe/+0:34).
Defending champion Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike/+0:37) finished fourth. The best German was time trial champion Nils Politt (Cologne/UAE Team Emirates/+1:57) in 29th place. In the overall ranking, two-time Tour winner Pogacar now leads by 33 seconds ahead of Evenepoel.
Bernard gets off and celebrates
During the stage, a curious thing happened: Frenchman Julian Bernard was cheered and celebrated by fans while riding through his home area.
Julien Bernard on the 7th stage
It was his personal “Tour d’Honneur”: During the climb in Curley, the professional cyclist, who lives nearby in Dijon, was enthusiastically celebrated by thousands of fans with countless posters, the guard of honor became smaller and smaller.
Kisses for wife and child
Bernard finally stopped and got a kiss from his wife and son before continuing on his journey. Bernard was able to take it easy in the race against the clock, and he plays no role in the overall ranking.
The eighth stage on Saturday will take the riders further north over 183.4 km, and both a mass sprint and a winner from a breakaway group are possible.
