Richard Carapaz of EF Education-Easypost secured victory in stage 18 of the Tour de France, following a strong breakaway performance. The Ecuadorian rider accelerated away from his competitors, finishing 45 seconds ahead of Mauro Schmid of Jayco-Alula and Matteo Jorgenson of Visma-Lease a Bike.
The mountainous 185.2km stage from Voiron to Ocieres Merlette marked the first of three challenging days in the French Alps. Carapaz’s aggressive riding was a highlight, as he danced on the pedals to break away from Valentin Paret-Peintre of Soudal Quick Step. When Paret-Peintre did not assist in extending their lead, Carapaz briefly stopped before launching another attack, leaving Paret-Peintre behind.
Challenges for UAE Team Emirates-XRG
Overall leader Tadej Pogacar’s UAE Team Emirates-XRG squad appears to be facing a wave of sickness. Key domestique Brandon McNulty abandoned the race mid-stage due to illness. This follows Britain’s Adam Yates falling ill and vomiting after stage 16’s time trial. Yates spent the subsequent stage riding slowly and finished significantly behind, and on Thursday, he again had to drop back to his team’s service car for fluids, finishing nearly half an hour down.
Despite these challenges, Pogacar maintains a commanding position in the general classification. He holds the yellow jersey with a lead of four minutes 32 seconds over Belgium’s Remco Evenepoel of Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe and six minutes 51 seconds over his team-mate Isaac del Toro of Mexico.
The loss of two domestiques could be significant for Pogacar, especially as the race approaches two particularly brutal stages that conclude on the iconic ascent to the Alpe d’Huez ski resort. These stages feature a total of four uncategorised climbs.
Stage 18 and General Classification Standings
Carapaz’s victory is the first for his EF Education-EasyPost team in this Tour. His performance also improved his standing in the King of the Mountains jersey competition, where he is now third, seven points behind Pogacar.
Denmark’s Mads Pedersen extended his lead in the green jersey classification to 32 points, though he remains vulnerable to Belgium’s Jasper Philipsen. Pogacar, at 27 years old, retains the King of the Mountain jersey by just one point, as does Del Toro in the white young rider’s jersey.
The stage saw several breakaways on a hot day. An early break of seven riders, including Pedersen, established themselves at the front. The group later swelled, with Egan Bernal of Netcompany Ineos, Carapaz, and Paret-Peintre bridging up to the front. The leading group reached 14 riders by the intermediate sprint, where Pedersen secured the maximum 25 points.
As the race entered its decisive moments with 25km remaining, Jorgenson attacked the front group but was marked. The leading group, which included Jorgenson, Carapaz, Paret-Peintre, Schmid, Tobias Halland Johannessen, and Raúl García Pierna, stayed together over the third category Côte de Saint-Léger-les-Mélèzes and descended to the final climb.
With 12km to go, before the leaders reached the final climb, Jorgenson attempted another solo move but was reeled in. Carapaz launched his decisive attack with 4km remaining, with only Paret-Peintre initially able to follow. Schmid and Jorgenson then bridged to the attackers, but Carapaz accelerated again, creating a gap that he maintained to the finish line.
The general classification after stage 18 shows Pogacar leading with a total time of 64 hours 35 minutes 13 seconds.
Tour de France Stage 18 Results:
- 1. Richard Carapaz (Ecu/EF Education-Easypost) 4hrs 26mins 21secs
- 2. Mauro Schmid (Swi/Jayco-Alula) +45secs
- 3. Matteo Jorgenson (USA/Visma-Lease a Bike) same time
- 4. Valentin Paret-Peintre (Fra/Soudal-Quick Step) +1min 14secs
- 5. Tobias Halland Johannessen (Nor/Uno X Mobility) +1min 57secs
- 6. Raul Garcia Pierna (Spa/Movistar) +2mins 12secs
- 7. Pablo Castrillo (Spa/Movistar) +4mins 30secs
- 8. Lenny Martinez (Fra/Bahrain Victorious) +4mins 35secs
- 9. Remco Evenepoel (Bel/Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) same time
- 10. Tom Pidcock (GB/Pinarello-Q36.5)
Tour de France General Classification After Stage 18:
- 1. Tadej Pogacar (Slo/UAE Team Emirates-XRG) 64hrs 35mins 13secs
- 2. Remco Evenepoel (Bel/Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) +4mins 32secs
- 3. Isaac del Toro (Mex/UAE Team Emirates-XRG) +6mins 51secs
- 4. Paul Seixas (Fra/Decathlon-CMA CGM) +7mins 11secs
- 5. Juan Ayuso (Spa/Lidl-Trek) +9mins 22secs
- 6. Mattias Skjelmose (Den/Lidl-Trek) +10mins 14secs
- 7. Lenny Martinez (Fra/Bahrain-Victorious) +12mins 50secs
- 8. Tom Pidcock (GB/Pinarello-Q36.5) +12mins 58secs
- 9. Jordan Jegat (Fra/Total Energies) +14mins 4secs
- 10. Richard Carapaz (Ecu/EF Education-Easypost) +21mins
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Source: bbc.co.uk
Daniel Fairbrother is the Senior Football Correspondent at Latest News UK, covering the Premier League, the EFL and the England national side with over a decade of reporting experience. He spent eight years on the football desk of a Yorkshire daily before moving into national coverage. He holds a degree in Sports Journalism from the University of Sunderland and completed an NCTJ diploma. Based in Leeds, he watches non-league football and runs a five-a-side league. “The best football stories are won in the week, not on the whistle.”