Cycling: Carapaz wins 18th Tour stage

At the mountain finish in Orcières-Merlette, the exceptional Slovenian rider crossed the finish line in 13th place after the day’s victory of the Ecuadorian Richard Carapaz, who had attacked as a breakaway on the 18th stage four kilometers from a group before the finish. After 185.2 kilometers starting in Voiron, the Swiss Mauro Schmid came second and the American Matteo Jorgenson third.

Pogacar still clearly ahead

Tour dominator Pogacar had to postpone his 26th Tour day victory. In 2020 he came second in Orcières-Merlette behind his compatriot Primoz Roglic, who is currently not taking part in the Tour.

Pogacar continues to dominate the overall standings. If he stays healthy, his fifth overall Tour victory awaits him on Sunday in Paris. The Slovenian is still in first place with a comfortable 4:32 minutes ahead of the Belgian Remco Evenepoel. Third is the Mexican Isaac del Toro – Pogacar’s teammate – with a gap of 6:51 minutes.

Pogacar Team with Problems

There seems to be an illness circulating in Pogacar’s team. After stomach problems slowed Adam Yates down a bit the day before, some colleagues showed performance problems on the 18th stage. At some point, team member McNulty could no longer follow and got off the bike. “He was alone for 50 kilometers,” was announced over the team radio.

Felix Engelhardt once again presented himself in a top group in his German championship jersey. The professionals were unable to create a clear gap to the main field for a long time before the number of minutes continued to increase – and everything pointed to a breakaway victory. But Engelhardt later fell behind.

The total of 3,900 meters in altitude over 185 kilometers was a big challenge at the start of the Alps, which culminates on Saturday in the fierce mountain rush to Alpe d’Huez. On the queen stage of this year’s tour, 5,650 meters of altitude await the professionals. Including three climbs of the highest category.

The first of two stages to the cycling mecca takes place on Friday. After four years we go back up to the legendary ski station of Alpe d’Huez. However, it is still significantly easier than the queen stage. It’s 127.9 kilometers from Gap to the winter sports resort. The tour ends on Sunday in Paris.