While the general classification heavyweights spent Stage 18 staring at each other’s rear derailleurs, Richard Carapaz channeled the ghost of Luis Ocaña on the ramps to Orcières-Merlette to launch a series of accelerations. Covering the final three kilometers solo, Carapaz snagged his second career Tour stage win and vaulted himself into the overall top 10.
Behind the Ecuadorian, Jayco AlUla’s Mauro Schmid earned his second consecutive silver medal in as many days after getting out-climbed on the summit run-in, with Matteo Jorgenson rounding out the stage podium for a battered Visma-Lease a Bike squad. Meanwhile, Tadej Pogačar’s UAE Team Emirates-XRG armor showed a rare crack as Brandon McNulty was forced to abandon the race due to illness. Over in the green jersey competition, Mads Pedersen quietly stretched his lead over Jasper Philipsen back to 29 points at the intermediate sprint, ensuring the fight for green remains every bit as volatile as the impending double-header at Alpe d’Huez.
In the spotty world, Valentin Paret-Peintre went on another relentless breakaway point spree to reach 69 KOM points, sitting just a single point shy of Tadej Pogačar’s lead in the polka dot standings before the peloton begins their Alpe d’Huez double-header.