Ecuador's Richard Carapaz claims victory in Stage 18 of the Tour de France, while Tadej Pogacar's team faces challenges due to illness.
New Delhi, India Jul 23, 2026 ALN: Ecuador's Richard Carapaz won stage 18 of the Tour de France following a commanding breakaway.
The EF Education-Easypost rider brilliantly accelerated away from his rivals with intuitive and canny riding, finishing 45 seconds ahead of Switzerland's Mauro Schmid of Jayco-Alula and Matteo Jorgenson of Visma-Lease a Bike. Carapaz's victory adds to his impressive résumé, which includes a gold medal in the road race at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and a previous win at the Giro d'Italia in 2019. His ability to perform under pressure in high-stakes races has made him a formidable contender in the world of professional .
Meanwhile, sickness appears to be making its way through overall leader Tadej Pogacar's UAE Team Emirates-XRG squad after key domestique Brandon McNulty abandoned the race mid-stage. McNulty's withdrawal is particularly concerning as he has been an essential support rider for Pogacar, assisting him in navigating challenging terrains and conserving energy during critical phases of the race.
Slovenian Pogacar remains in the yellow jersey by four minutes 32 seconds over Belgium's Remco Evenepoel of Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe and six minutes 51 seconds over UAE team-mate Isaac del Toro of Mexico. Pogacar's dominance in the race has been remarkable, but the recent health issues within his team raise questions about his ability to maintain that lead as the race progresses into its most challenging stages.
Thursday's mountainous 185.2km stage from Voiron to Ocieres Merlette marked the first of three gruelling days in the French Alps, and several riders formed a number of breakaways on a hot day on the road. The stage was characterized by steep climbs, which are a hallmark of the Tour de France and often serve to separate the strongest riders from the rest of the pack. Carapaz's combative riding was the best to watch. With his gold chain and giant crucifix swinging from side to side, he danced on the pedals to try to launch himself away from the hard-charging Valentin Paret-Peintre of Soudal Quick Step - who is wearing the King of the Mountains jersey on behalf of KOM leader Pogacar.
When Paret-Peintre avoided helping the pair extend their lead over Jorgenson and Schmid, Carapaz virtually stopped on the steep tarmac, baulking Paret-Peintre, and as the Frenchman then assumed a period of recovery, Carapaz launched again, leaving an exhausted and out-of-rhythm Paret-Peintre broken. This strategic maneuver highlights Carapaz's tactical acumen and understanding of race dynamics, which can often be just as important as raw physical strength in professional .
Denmark's Mads Pedersen extended his lead in the green jersey classification to 32 points, but remains vulnerable to Belgium's Jasper Philipsen. The green jersey, awarded for points accumulated in intermediate sprints and stage finishes, is highly coveted and represents a different aspect of racing compared to the general classification. Pedersen's consistent performance in sprints has kept him at the forefront of this competition, but with several stages remaining, the battle for the green jersey remains fiercely competitive.
Pogacar, 27, retains the King of the Mountain jersey, but only by a point, as does Del Toro in the white young rider's jersey. The King of the Mountains jersey is awarded to the best climber in the race and is a significant accolade, especially given the Tour's demanding mountain stages. Pogacar's ability to maintain this lead is crucial as the race heads into more mountainous terrain, where his climbing skills will be put to the ultimate test.
Dominant overall leader Pogacar is in a commanding position in the general classification as the race heads into its conclusion in the Alps. However, the loss of American rider McNulty to sickness - after he drifted several minutes behind the peloton early in the stage - follows Britain's Adam Yates falling ill and vomiting after stage 16's time trial. Yates spent the following stage riding slowly at the very back of the field, and finished almost last, more than 26 minutes down. On Thursday, Yates was again forced to drift back to his team's service car and take on fluids, before eventually finishing nearly half an hour down.
Such is Pogacar's dominance, losing two domestiques might not seem like such a problem. However, he uses his domestiques early on stages which involve a lot of climbing, and the next two stages which both finish on the iconic ribbon of Tarmac up to the Alpe d'Huez ski resort promise to be particularly brutal. The Alpe d'Huez is famous for its challenging switchbacks and steep gradients, making it a decisive point in the Tour de France. The absence of key support riders could impact Pogacar's strategy, forcing him to expend more energy than he would typically need to in order to maintain his lead.
Could even Pogacar's phenomenal pace and explosive riding be quelled by having to traverse a total of four uncategorised climbs? The potential for fatigue to set in is high, especially considering the cumulative toll of the previous stages. As the race nears its conclusion, every second counts, and Pogacar will need to rely on his exceptional climbing ability and tactical prowess to fend off his competitors.
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)
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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