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.
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.
Slovenian Pogacar remains in the yellow jersey by four minutes 32 seconds over Belgium’s Remco Evenepeol of Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe and six minutes 51 seconds over UAE team-mate Isaac del Toro of Mexico.
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.
But 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 in 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.
Denmark’s Mads Pedersen extended his lead in the green jersey classification to 32 points, but remains vulnerable to Belgium’s Jasper Philipsen.
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.
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