'It's just amazing that I can be a bit close to him' - Evenepoel hails Pogacar as one of cycling's best ever

Evenepoel rocketed to yet another time trial victory in his career, with stage 16 of the Tour de France his third time trial victory at the Tour de France. 

Speaking in his media interview after the success, Evenepoel felt a sense of pride with his entire family out to support him as he chased victory on his native country's national day and aimed to take a small dent out of Tadej Pogacar's mighty time advantage.

"It's amazing. It was a very nice TT. A lot of people on the side of the road. My whole family from both sides being here," said Evenepoel in his flash interview.

"My parents came just today. My wife is here with her parents and the siblings as well. And also on the Belgian National Day it's pretty special. I read this morning it's been a while since a Belgian won on National Day. So I'm proud to be the one."

Evenepoel's victory had a bittersweet aftertaste when his teammate Florian Lipowitz abandoned the race following a heavy crash.

"I've just been told my teammate Lipo has crashed. That's very unfortunate. It's like a bittersweet pill to swallow with this victory. I wish him all the best and I hope it's not too bad," clarified the Belgian.

Regarding his rapid effort against the clock, Evenepoel felt he had opened the taps too early in the opening portion of the effort, drawing parallels to his World Championship success in Rwanda, where he had famously overtaken Pogacar.

"I was feeling really good. The first few kilometres I was pushing a power and I was telling myself I needed to hold back," stated Evenepoel.

"It made me think a bit of my TT in Rwanda where I started and I had quite a big gap in the beginning. But I have to say Tadej was also very impressive. He was really close to me always and it was a big challenge to keep my gap with him."

The stage 16 victory is Evenepoel's second victory in a row at the 2026 Tour de France after he took victory on the summit finish Plateau de Solaison and the Belgian thanked the Red Bull staff.

"It's unbelievable to take two victories in a row. It's amazing. My coach, the performance staff, everybody. I need to thank them for all the trust they have in me, but it's not over yet."

The final remaining stages of the Tour are brutal with stages 19 and 20 featuring finishes on the Alpe d'Huez as well as a finish in Orcières-Merlette on stage 18.

On the matter of those stages, Evenepoel said, "It's no secret that the hardest stages are all in the end of the Tour. So I was not super, super good in the first week. I was good, but not amazing. I needed the first week to really get into race rhythm again."

After the stage victory, Evenepoel had gained 28 seconds on Pogacar and the Belgian now sits at 4:32 down on the current World Champion; he senses that Pogacar is simply out of reach and even feels that he can learn a lot from him.

"I'm on my own spot. Tadej is on his way to win a fifth Tour de France. I think it's just amazing that I can be a bit close to him. It's an honour to race with him because he's, if not the best ever. For me, it's just a big step forward that I can at least be a bit around him. I try to learn from him," stated Evenepoel.