Belgium’s Remco Evenepoel dominated the Stage 16 time trial Tuesday, finishing the technical 26.1-kilometer course at Thonon-les-Bains, France, in 32 minutes, 19 seconds to strengthen his grip on second place in the overall standings at the Tour de France.

The time trial opened the third and final week of the Tour de France after an off day Monday, with the concluding Stage 21 set for a Sunday finish at Paris.

A three-time world champion in the time trial who also won both cycling events at the 2024 Paris Olympics, Evenepoel was a full minute faster than the closest competitor until Slovenia’s Tadej Pogacar finished right behind him in second at 32:47.

Evenepoel was somewhat subdued after the victory at the news that Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe teammate Florian Lipowitz of Germany had to abandon the Tour de France following a crash on the time trial course.

Pogacar, who nearly crashed at the same corner where Lipowitz went down, remained in the overall leader’s yellow jersey, with Evenepoel 4:32 behind after winning his second consecutive stage. Evenepoel won Sunday’s Stage 15 by edging Pogacar on a closing climb in the mountains.

Mexico’s Isaac del Toro remained third in the overall standings after finishing fifth on Tuesday, while 19-year-old Paul Seixas of France was fourth overall after finishing fourth in the time trial.

Juan Ayuso of Spain is fifth overall, just ahead of Denmark’s Mattias Skjelmose, who finished in third place on Tuesday.

Lipowitz entered the time trial fifth in the overall standings, after finishing third overall last year, but is now out with an apparent right shoulder injury after crashing and sliding into a curb alongside the road.

Wednesday’s Stage 17 is a relatively flat 174.7-kilometer route with an early climb from Chambery to Voiron.

–Field Level Media

With their recent losing streak behind them, the Phoenix Mercury will test their newfound form when they visit the Los Angeles Sparks on Wednesday in the finale before the All-Star break for both teams.

The Mercury (9-18) ended a five-game skid with a defensive-minded 72-63 defeat of the Connecticut Sun on Sunday. DeWanna Bonner scored 21 points and Kahleah Copper added 18 in the home victory.

Bonner also grabbed six rebounds to become Phoenix’s all-time leader. She passed Brittney Griner, who was on the floor for the game as a member of the Sun.

After losing to Connecticut 96-83 at home on Friday, the Mercury exacted some revenge by holding the Sun to 37.9% shooting from the floor and 33.3% in the fourth quarter as they finished off the victory.

“Our defense really responded today,” Mercury coach Nate Tibbetts said. “Connecticut has done a pretty good job the last two games, taking away our 3s, and we knew we needed to step up defensively, and I thought we did that. I was proud we took care of the basketball.”

Now, it’s the Sparks who are trying to snap a slump. Los Angeles (10-15) went on a four-game road trip after general manager Raegan Pebley was fired on July 12 and lost every game. The trip concluded with a 90-82 loss to the Dallas Wings on Sunday.

Nneka Ogwumike had 17 points and 10 rebounds for the Sparks, while Dearica Hamby scored 16 and Erica Wheeler had 10 assists.

Los Angeles guard Kelsey Plum, who was named an All-Star for the fifth time, has been out for a full month because of a lower left leg injury, with the team going 2-7 in her absence.

The Sparks were competitive against the surging Wings, leading 58-57 late in the third quarter and pulling within 86-82 with 1:30 remaining in the game before fading in the closing minute.

“We’re throwing a lot of things at teams, we’re mixing things up, and we’re able to stick to it during the game,” said Ogwumike, who was pleased with the defensive effort against Dallas. “We just have to get those intangible plays that don’t really show up on the scoresheet for us to be able to turn these (games) into wins.”

–Field Level Media

Defensive improvement has contributed to the Indiana Fever’s current stretch of success.

Aiming for a third straight win, the Fever look to continue that stinginess in Indianapolis on Wednesday night against the Connecticut Sun, one of WNBA’s lowest-scoring teams.

Indiana (16-10) averages a league-high 94.4 points, but ranks near the bottom defensively, giving up 89.7 per contest. However, amid a 6-2 stretch, the Fever have held six opponents to 89 or fewer points.

On Saturday, they outscored the visiting New York Liberty 30-12 during the third quarter, paving the way for a 108-88 victory.

“We know we can score, but for us to accomplish what we want to accomplish, we’ve got to get better on the defensive end,” Indiana coach Stephanie White said.

The Fever held Connecticut (7-19) to nine second-quarter points and 5-of-17 shooting from 3-point range during their 85-75 road win June 13.

Caitlin Clark had 25 points, just above her average of 20.7 per game. The Indiana superstar has been on a minutes restriction over the last four games while dealing with a lingering back issue. With one game left before the All-Star break, she could receive another night of rest.

Star teammate Kelsey Mitchell (23.3 points) looks to record at least 20 points in an 11th straight contest. After scoring 30 in Indiana’s 110-107 win over Seattle on Friday, Mitchell dropped 33 on 10-of-14 shooting against the Liberty.

“She’s just a ballplayer,” White said. “She just wants to play.”

Mitchell scored 19 last month against the Sun, who will try to snap a four-game series losing streak to the Fever.

Though Connecticut is next-to-last in the league standings, while scoring 79.7 points per game, the team is 5-4 since losing seven in a row from June 2-19.

“Be mentally ready,” Sun coach Rachid Meziane said. “We have to be ready to respond by showing character.”

The Sun’s attempt at a third straight victory ended with a 72-63 loss at Phoenix on Sunday. They shot 37.9% overall, finished 4 of 14 from 3-point range and committed 21 turnovers that led to 22 points for the Mercury.

Connecticut center Olivia Nelson-Ododa tallied 12 points and 12 rebounds Sunday. She has averaged 11.7 points in her last 10 games, and posted 12 with seven boards against Indiana in June.

–Field Level Media