Key events

36m ago Armirail takes the lead!
2h ago Summary of action so far...
2h ago William Fotheringham's stage preview
2h ago Introduction

Five points are available in the polkadot competition for the fastest ascent of the Côte de Larringes. Pogacar leads the mountains standings but Valentin Paret-Peintre (Soudal-Quick-Step) wears the jersey today since the overall leader cannot claim both. The Frenchman will push hard on the ascent without concern for general classification time and hopes the top riders conserve energy for later sections. Paret-Peintre has roughly 4km remaining on the climb. Worth watching closely.

Countdown begins for the general classification contenders starting their efforts. Here are the planned start times for the top ten riders:

Jordan Jegat (TotalEnergies) at 15.57 BST (16.57 CEST)
Tom Pidcock (Pinarello-Q36.5) at 15.59 BST (16.59 CEST)
Lenny Martinez (Bahrain Victorious) at 16.01 BST (17.01 CEST)
Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek) at 16.03 BST (17.03 CEST)
Juan Ayuso (Lidl-Trek) at 16.05 BST (17.05 CEST)
Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull Bora-Hansgrohe) at 16.07 BST (17.07 CEST)
Paul Seixas (Decathlon) at 16.09 BST (17.09 CEST)
Isaac Del Toro (UAE Emirates-XRG) at 16.11 BST (17.11 CEST)
Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull Bora-Hansgrohe) at 16.13 BST (17.13 CEST)
Tadej Pogacar (UAE Emirates-XRG) at 16.15 BST (17.15 CEST)

Armirail is the new leader!

The Frenchman crosses the line with mouth open wide. Despite dropping notable time to Tarling on the flat sections the Visma Lease-a-Bike rider beats the current leader by six seconds.

Pedersen completes his ride in 37min 31secs more than three minutes behind Tarling.

Bruno Armirail (Visma Lease-a-Bike) passes the time check at the summit of the Côte de Larringes 19 seconds ahead of Tarling. He descends swiftly. The key question remains whether he can match Tarling's speed on the level run to the finish. Strong performance from Armirail with 11.5km left.

Mads Pedersen the green jersey wearer is on the route. He climbs with around 22.5km remaining. The Dane lacks time trial expertise and already sits 50secs behind Tarling. No rider currently on course comes within 40secs of the stage leader.

Summary of action so far...

The opening rider departed at noon. Josh Tarling of Netcompany-Ineos posted the best time of 34mins 21secs. His teammate Filippo Ganna finished four seconds slower. Huub Artz (Lotto-Intermarche) sits third.

William Fotheringham's stage preview

William Fotheringham

Stage 16 Tuesday 21 July: Évian-les-Bains to Thonon-les-Bains (individual time trial) 26.1km

Time trials recall those days? Three decades ago with Miguel Induráin at his peak a Tour could feature three against-the-clock efforts exceeding 100km total. Lately they have shortened to heighten excitement so this lasts just over half an hour. Including a second-category ascent and descent it suits the overall contenders headed by multiple world champion Evenepoel. It will hinge on seconds with drama only if a rider falters as Vingegaard did last year in Rouen. Is this advancement? Replies on a postcard please.

Introduction

Two consecutive wins for Remco Evenepoel? The Belgian stands as favorite for the lone individual time trial of this Tour on a 26.1km route that rises immediately from the start in Évian-les-Bains and includes the category two Côte de Larringes a 9.7km climb averaging 4.3% followed by a demanding descent toward the Lake Geneva shore at Thonon-les-Bains.

The unfortunate exit of Jonas Vingegaard marked by controversy after the Dane crashed the day following a 2am doping control interruption underscored what was already evident about this Tour: Tadej Pogacar cannot be caught. Evenepoel might trim a few seconds from Pogacar's five-minute advantage here if he secures another grand tour time trial win yet Pogacar could also display his versatility by claiming the stage himself. The Netcompany-Ineos duo of Filippo Ganna and Josh Tarling remain contenders while Juan Ayuso (Lidl-Trek) offers an outside chance.

Attention in the remaining Tour stages will center on the fight for the podium and the contest for the young rider jersey between Isaac del Toro and Paul Seixas. Seixas performs better against the clock but after two weeks of racing the effects remain uncertain.