ORCIERES-MERLETTE, France (AP) 鈥� Ecuadorian rider Richard Carapaz timed his attack perfectly in the final climb to win the 18th stage of the on Thursday, while Tadej Pogacar finished a few minutes behind and maintained his significant overall lead.
It was the 33-year-old Carapaz鈥檚 first stage win at this year鈥檚 race and second overall. He was not chased down by Pogacar because he is not considered a threat to win the Tour, and is in 10th spot.
鈥淭his is a wonderful victory,鈥� Carapaz said. 鈥淚 dedicate it to my family.鈥�
After moving ahead about 3 kilometers (2 miles) from the summit, Carapaz raced clear. He patted each side of his head as he approached the finish line, and was 45 seconds ahead of Swiss rider Mauro Schmid and American Matteo Jorgenson.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been a special day. It took a lot of hard work,鈥� said Carapaz, who failed to win with a similar breakaway earlier in this year鈥檚 race. 鈥淭his is the most rewarding thing for me, knowing that the work I put in has paid off.鈥�
Pogacar is chasing a third straight Tour title and fifth overall. The Slovenian star rolled over the line in a large group containing his closest rival Remco Evenepoel and Pogacar鈥檚 UAE Emirates XRG teammate Isaac Del Toro.
There was no change overall as Pogacar maintained his lead of 4 minutes, 32 seconds over the Belgian time trial star Evenepoel, the at this year’s race, and 6:51 over the 22-year-old Mexican Del Toro in third overall.
Thursday’s stage was the first of three straight days of Alpine climbs.
The 185-kilometer (115-mile) trek featured an early Category 1 climb 鈥� the second-hardest category 鈥� up C么te d’Engins, before ending with a Cat. 1 ascent to the Orci猫res-Merlette ski station.
After going over Engins, Jorgenson was in a small group at the front. They were then joined by Carapaz with Pogacar’s yellow jersey group clearly hanging back.
鈥淚 think nobody would really commit,鈥� said Pogacar, who has won four stages at this year’s race.
Carapaz’s stage could have ended when he had a near miss with a fan stood in the road, just swerving around him in time.
Heading into the final climb up Orci猫res-Merlette, Jorgenson and Schmid could not respond when Carapaz, who , attacked.
鈥淭his final climb was tough and suited my strengths well,鈥� said Carapaz, whose other Tour stage win came in 2024. 鈥淭his was a hard-fought victory, but just as tough as the first one. It gets harder every year to win here.鈥�
Tough climbs ahead
Friday’s 19th stage ends with a HC climb (the hardest category) up L’Alpe d鈥橦uez, an iconic Tour climb and among the most famed in cycling.
Saturday’s 20th and penultimate stage is brutal and could be epic. It features three HC climbs 鈥� Col de la Croix de Fer, Col du Galibier and Col de Sarenne 鈥� and one Cat. 1 climb up Col du T茅l茅graphe, before a hilly finish to L’Alpe d’Huez.
The race ends Sunday on the Champs-脡lys茅es in Paris. ___
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