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As it happened - Breakaway wins Tour de France stage 18 as GC battle pauses

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Victor Campenaerts takes victory on brutal day in the heat ahead of Vercher and Kwiatkowski in Barcelonnette

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Bonjour and welcome to Cyclingnews' live coverage of stage 18 of the 2024 Tour de France!

Stage 18 presents another and perhaps the final chance for a strong breakaway to have its day, such is the difficulty of Friday and Saturday's mountain tests and the final time trial into Nice which will surely be won by one of the GC favourites.

It's billed as a "hilly" stage by Le Tour but it actually has more elevation than yesterday's mountain stage to SuperDévoluy so expect another furious fight to get into any moves and it should be another thriller. Here's the profile of the 179.5km stage:

The racing gets underway from Gap on today's stage, as it has done for many years at the Tour. With undulating roads right from start to finish taking in over 3000m of elevation gain, expect more all-out racing as was the case on stage 17. 

Even with a breakaway some seven minutes up the road, race leader Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) simply couldn't help himself with another attack near the crest of the Col du Noyer. He gained two seconds on Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike), while Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-QuickStep) looked strong up the final two climbs to gain 10 and 12 seconds on his rivals.

We're around an hour and a half away from the neutralised roll out in Gap, before racing proper gets underway with the flag drop at 13:20 CEST.

Despite Pogačar's unplanned attack on stage 17, perhaps the biggest news in recent days has been the change in atmosphere around the yellow jersey holder. Read how one of our excellent team on the ground, Barry Ryan, has seen the narratives around carbon monoxide rebreathers, 'Mou' and his instinctive attacking here:

Evenepoel's strong move yesterday also moved him within two minutes of Vingegaard in second. Could that be a battle we see play out at the weekend?

Here's the map of today's stage from Gap to Barcelonnette in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department:

Riders are at the sign-on and team presentation in Gap with just over an hour until things kick off.

Here's how the GC standings look heading into stage 18:

Vingegaard was aided by satellite riders from Visma-Lease a Bike on yesterday's stage after they rode aggressively in the opening to the stage. With a less difficult finish, it's unlikely Pogačar will attack, however, it was unlikely he would attack yesterday and he did. Visma will likely try to get riders up the road again today, with Wout van Aert also being an option for the stage win.

A look into EF Education-EasyPost's celebrations last night. A first win at the Tour for Carapaz, a Grand Tour stage win completed and EF's first win at the 2024 Tour after perhaps being the most attacking throughout the first 17 stages. Today could be another great chance for them through Carapaz again, Ben Healy or Neilson Powless:

Here's the World Champion Mathieu van der Poel at the start of stage 18 in Gap. He's gone for the full white skinsuit so expect him to be firing on all cylinders in his final chance to win from a breakaway at the Tour.

15 minutes from the neutralised start in Gap now.

Big day for Groupama-FDJ on stage 18, with the French side yet to really get anything out of the race. They'll be back in the break with the likes of Gaudu, Madouas and Gregoire.

A reminder that we will be heading uphill right from the start today so the attacks should come thick and fast. It's another hot day as the Tour heads towards the Côte d'Azur. There were ice vests on for most of the riders at the start.

Stage start

Here's the race leader Pogačar at the start in Gap, ready for another day of battle in the hills.

179.5km to go

World Champion Van der Poel was right toward the front and he's responded to the first attack from the day from Krists Neilands (Israel-Premier Tech). Michael Matthews (Jayco AlUla) is similarly interested and this is going to be breathless.

Attacks coming from everywhere on the road behind. Small groups are splintering with the nearly whole peloton desperate to be involved. There's a massive group on the front with a smaller bunch following closely and led by Van Aert.

11 of the 22 teams at the Tour de France in 2024 have won a stage so far so half of those trying to get in know this could be their final chance. The breakaway formation will be vital. Neilands goes again with Stefan Kung (Groupama-FDJ) on his wheel. 

Küng and Neilands have been joined by 3 others who have chased well. Jan Tratnik is very active showing Visma-Lease a Bike's ambitions today. 

Attackers are caught and the strung out bunch prepares to go again.

All smiles for Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Wanty) and Vingegaard at the start of the days stage. 

175km to go

Van der Poel, Gibbons, Powless and Quinn are among those in the next split off the front. But no group is getting any advantage so it could take ages before we have any sort of breakaway. 

Speeds up at 67kph in this thrilling start. No one is quite willing to fully commit knowing they will be chased down furiously. Arkéa-B&B Hotels kick things off again with a a big acceleration but Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe are right on them, trying to get Hindley away in a move.

A look inside the strung out peloton on stage 18 as the furious racing goes past beautiful scenery heading away from Gap. 

170km to go

Jasper Stuyven (Lidl-Trek) now sets off on the front but he's all alone for now. A Groupam-FDJ rider is trying to chase but it seems as though the main peloton is waiting now for the first categorised climb of the day - the Col de Festre (3.9km at 6.3%) - which starts in around 10km time.

It was Clément Russo (Groupama-FDJ) who was chasing but he stopped his effort and let Stuyven get 35 seconds up the road. Once the Frenchman was back in, EF launched a new move to try and bridge across with Carapaz and Costa.

Van der Poel has just bridged across to a six-man move on his own and he's looking strong. Stuyven is still 27 seconds ahead pushing on with the hope of being joined by strong riders from behind. 

There's scorching heat on stage 18 of the Tour de France, with the temperature in the Alps up in the 30s. Cooling will be a key factor today.

160km to go

Fast and furious racing on stage 18 of the Tour de France.

Stuyven is still 11 seconds in front with the action relatively calming down for a moment. All eyes will be on the first climb of the day to form the break. 

Stuyven caught and it's all back together at the front of the peloton. Tratnik tries to kick on as the race reaches the foot of the climb and the game is restarting again. 

Jonathan Castroviejo (Ineos Grenadiers) is leading a huge group that has a small gap on the chasing peloton. More attacks are certain to fly with around 5km of uphill roads to contend with now. Marc Soler (UAE Team Emirates) just closed down the small gap so Pogačar's men clearly weren't happy with the composition. 

Bike change for Luke Durbridge (Jayco AlUla) at the back of the pack.

155km to go

Back together at the front of the peloton with the next round of moves incoming. Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers) is looking active despite his efforts in yesterday's break. 

That latest round has found some separation with a large group moving away. Just as it seemed to calm, more riders realised this could be the break going away for the day. Van Aert, Thomas, Healy and Hindley all up there with a full group to be confirmed momentarilly. 

Lazkano and Carapaz are desperately launching out of the peloton to try and bridge what is for the moment a 20-second gap to the leaders. Those in front are hitting the categorised climb proper but they've already been travelling uphill for some four kilometres. 

Carapaz and Lazkano make it across but this big bridging behind has almost brought things fully back together.

150km to go

It's going to be a brutal day at the back of the peloton. Those struggling will be praying the breakaway gets away soon and this furious attacking stops. 

Dorion Godon (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) and Valentin Madouas (Groupama-FDJ) seem to be the last riders to try and make the junction across to the front. They are at 20 seconds from the leaders, with the peloton calming down and now approaching a one-minute deficit. 

There's 34 riders currently in this break and most of the teams are represented. It did seem to be done as the first climb is completed but Uno-X are trying to launch more moves through Magnus Cort. He was marked by a UAE and a Visma rider with the gap still at 40 seconds.

140km to go

Composition of the confirmed 37 breakaway riders who now have a 2:58 lead:
Four riders:
TotalEnergies - Jegat, Vercher, Burgaudeau and Cras
Three riders:
EF Education-EasyPost - Carapaz, Quinn and Healy
Movistar - Lazkano, Aranburu and Mühlberger
Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale - Godon, Armirail and Prodhomme
Two riders:
Visma-Lease a Bike - Van Aert and Lemmen
Ineos Grenadiers - Thomas and Kwiatkowski
Jayco-AlUla - Juul-Jensen and Matthews
Lidl-Trek - Bernard and Skujiņš
Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe - Hindley and Sobrero
Israel-Premier Tech - Neilands and Houle
Intermarché-Wanty - Meintjes and Zimmermann
DSM-Firmenich PostNL - Onley and Van den Broek
Groupama-FDJ - Madouas and Pacher
Arkéa-B&B Hotels - Raul García Pierna and Clément Champoussin
One rider:
Lotto Dstny - Victor Campenaerts
Cofidis - Guillaume Martin
Uno-X Mobility - Tobias Halland Johannessen
Bahrain-Victorious - Wout Poels

Quite stunning views on the road today.

130km to go

Stunning skill from Valentin Madouas (Groupama-FDJ) to keep this one up but I'm sure he'll be trying his best not to do any more stoppies now that he's made it into the break of the day. 

Van Aert is looking good as he takes a pull on the front. Reminder that if he is to win today, it will be his first win at the Tour de France, amazingly, since stage 20 of the 2022 race when he won the ITT into Rocamadour.

The breakaway is onto the second categorised climb of the day - the Côte de Corps (2.1km at 7.2%) and Lazkano and Carapaz are fighting out the KOM sprint. The Spanish rider took the spoils at the crest, with them starting on 35 and 34 points at the start of the day respectively. 

UAE Team Emirates have taken over on the front of the peloton but there is no urgency or chase from them with the deficit to the break growing to 3:45.

120km to go

That mechanical, and probably the day in the break yesterday, has done for Oscar Onley, who after having to change his wheel with one from neutral service, is now in now man's land 2:25 from the breakaway. He'll soon be back in the peloton leaving 36 in front and teammate Frank van den Broek on his own.

Vingegaard is getting a shoe change at the back of the peloton but the pace has really gone out behind. Gap to the leaders now at 4:10.

110km to go

Race radio from Visma is telling Lemmen and Van Aert to stay towards the front with the games beginning in the break. With so many riders in there, many will be trying to skip a turn and save their energy. The fight for the break may be over but the fight for the stage win will be incredibly tactical in the final 107km. 

Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers) and Victor Campenaerts (Lotto Dstny) lead the breakaway on stage 18 of the Tour de France. Advantage is out to near five minutes.

100km to go

Intermediate sprint

Speeds were upped after the IS and through the feed zone but there's no splits yet. Breakaway closing in on the next climb now where action could restart properly.

87km to go

UAE Team Emirates holding front position in the peloton with Ineos Grenadiers close behind. It's looking unlikely that we will see GC action as we did yesterday without any of the climbs looking hard enough - all eyes will be on the Col de Vars, Cime de la Bonette and Isola 2000 tomorrow. 

Lazkano again takes the maximum KOM points ahead of Carapaz with only them battling for it. They are still a long way from taking it off Pogačar.

80km to go

It is very hot on stage 18. Tough conditions out there for all those in the break.

70km to go

Still fully intact with 36 riders in this breakaway. Will be very surprised if that stays the same by the time this climb is finished. 

Almost on cue, Neilands threatens to accelerate and Hindley is right onto his back wheel and through to the front with fellow pure climber Meintjes. 

Attack

65km to go

Thomas and Van den Broek have been able to bridge across with Healy letting the pressure off for a moment. Bernard is trying to make sure Trek are represented.

Things all come together but the pace is still right up there in the break. 5.4km to go until the crest.

Sean Quinn is the next to go for EF, with the Stars and Stripes USA champion's jersey fully on display.

Lazkano is bridging to the American and towing the whole breakaway with him. Still no significant separations in the breakaway. 

Healy goes again! Lemmen chases him once more with Thomas doing so much work to chase things down for Kwiatkowski.

Still no joy for EF who are trying everything to secure back-to-back breakaway success. Johannessen tried to get Uno-X into a great spot off the front but he was similarly chased back quickly.

Lemmen is doing a fantastic job for Van Aert as he marshals the moves for his leader. Quinn, Kwiatkowski have both tried in the final 3.5km of the climb but with no success. 

60km to go

Campenaerts and Van Aert have started to show themselves more towards the top of the climb. They both look strong after hiding in the group when the first few waves of attacks were launched. 

Johannessen wins the KOM sprint and brings the race onto the descent, with only one categorised climb remaining on the route and the undulating drag towards Barcelonnette.

Nine-minute gap to the peloton who are now sharing round a family pack of peanut M&M's if you wanted an idea of the pace they are riding at.

Healy's aggressive efforts have seen him spat out the back towards the top of the climb with those who were struggling on the lower slopes. This leaves Quinn and Carapaz in the front group without much terrain that particularly suits them. 

No stress for race leader Tadej Pogačar today, just a day of getting around safely before the final weekend GC battle gets going tomorrow.

50km to go

Thomas and Aranburu have nipped off the front of the breakaway with the big group splintering all over the place before the final climb. Five riders are bridging across to make it seven in the front - Quinn, Lemmen, Neilands, Johannessen and Zimmermann.

Gap between the seven in front and the rest of the chasing breakaway is out to 15 seconds now but Lemmen is sitting on at the back with leader Van Aert still behind. 

The race has hit the final climb of the day, the Côte des Demoiselles Coiffées (3.5 km at 5.4%) and TotalEnergies are using their numerical advantage to pace back onto the seven that got away. Could someone launch solo on this climb or will it all come down to a tactical finale into Barcelonnette?

Attack

Lazkano counters with all the power and faces he's got, dropping big power on the climb. Lemmen again stays strong to chase him down and mark out everything. What a day it's been for the Tour debutant on Visma. If Van Aert wins, he will owe a lot to Lemmen. 

40km to go

Kwiatkowski launches another move in the approach to the KOM sprint. Neilands failed to bring him back and he's pushing on with the descent to come. Carapaz has sprinted over the top and is chasing down his former teammate. 

Kwiatkowski has managed to hold his advantage on the start of the descent and no one behind is willing to commit to the chase. The Pole has seven seconds on those behind. 

With the gap behind going out to 11 minutes, Derek Gee has put his Israel-Premier Tech teammates to work to ensure it doesnt get any closer. 

36km to go

Kwiatkowski was right on the limit as he navigated the technical descent, however, behind him Johannessen went down really hard and is in serious pain. This also held up the chasers and the gap to the lead trio is now out to 21 seconds. He's thankfully back on the bike.

It's Vercher from Total who is with the Ineos and Lotto riders in the front. Kwiatkowski particularly is an excellent descender and is really saving energy thanks to his technique. 

30km to go

Here's a look at Jake Stewart leading the peloton for Israel-Premier Tech's Derek Gee who sits ninth overall. The gap to the breakaway is at 12:38.

Kwiatkowski, Campenaerts and Vercher were getting caught but they have eked out their lead to 20 seconds on the chasing five and 45 on the chasing remnants of the break, who have been rejoined by Johannessen after his crash. 

The bigger chase group is struggling to get anything organised with only short attacks being launched and no proper pursuit being mounted. Van Aert and co. are seeing the stage win disappear up the road at this rate. 

The trio in front are doing a tremendous job to keep the pressure on. Hindley and Lazkano's group are struggling massively to cooperate and they are still 23 seconds down. 

Van Aert launches a desperate move to try and make it across to his teammate Lemmen and then to the leading group. Is it too late and too big a gap to close down?

20km to go

Kwiatkowski and Vercher will be counting their blessings to have Campenaerts with them here as one of the best riders on the flat in the world and a real powerhouse at keeping a breakaway ahead. 

Kwiatkowski and Campenaerts getting into what looks to be the decisive move of the stage. The Hindley group is now at 45 seconds, while the bigger Van Aert bunch is still 1:08 behind and failing to get moving. 

15km to go

Madouas has launched out of the big chasing group and is closing in on the five in the middle who are now 54 seconds away from the lead trio. 

10km to go

With the gap to the peloton around 14 minutes from the bigger chasing group, Cras and Martin could be set to move into the top 10 on GC if it gets any bigger. Israel for Gee and Bahrain for Buitrago should be pacing behind to try and protect their leaders. 

Kwiatkowski is tightening the shoes and getting ready for the finale now with 6km to go. He and Campenaerts will be the favourite over Vercher in the sprint but the young and relatively unknown Frenchman could surprise them.

5km to go

The gap to the five-man chase group has come down slightly to below 40 seconds with Van Aert and the bigger bunch now 45 seconds down. But Campenaerts, Kwiatkowski and Vercher should still be safe to make it home. 

Into the final 2.5km now and they are still rolling through at the front but beginning to look around at each other slightly. 

Kwiatkowski is covered in salt showing just how hard a day it has been in the heat. He won a stage in the 2023 Tour, can he repeat the feat in 2024?

1km to go

Final sprint incoming for the trio in front with the Belgian now at the back and not wanting to hit the front. 

Vercher tried to stole a march but the Ineos man has chased him down and the sprint is still to come. 

Kwiatkowski moves across the road and the final run for the line begins with 250 to go. Vercher takes off in his wheel as does Campenaerts who explodes with a big sprint. 

Victor Campenaerts (Lotto Dstny) wins stage 18 of the Tour de France!

The winning moment for Campenaerts in Barcelonnette. Tour debutant Matteo Vercher (TotalEnergies) takes a brilliant second place after crashing in the neutral zone at the beginning of stage 18. It's a good ride and third place for Kwiatkowski, who led out the sprint from good position but lacked the power to respond to the huge sprint of the Belgian. 

Top 10 on stage 18

What a moment for Campenaerts as he Facetimes family to celebrate and let all the emotions flow out. Shows just what it means to win a Tour de France stage and he's done it at the age of 32 and at the 10th Grand Tour of his career. 

The peloton full of the key GC riders has finally rolled across the line 13:40 behind the breakaway. Israel-Premier Tech successfully did their job to defend Derek Gee's ninth overall but the gap to Steff Cras (TotalEnergies) and Guillaume Martin (Cofidis) has closed with them now in 12th and 13th just 1:30 away from the top 10.

Campenaerts gave a wonderfully emotional interview post-race, with huge credit to his girlfriend for her support. It's hard to quantify just how much a Tour win means for the tiniest percentage of pro riders who ever make it there but this perhaps characterises it best:

Here's what Wout van Aert made of stage 18 after missing out on victory again at the Tour de France:

Make sure to checkout Stephen Farrand's stage report from all the day's action alongside our growing gallery from a brutal day in the heat.

Campenaerts celebrated with his Lotto-Dstny teammates after the podium ceremony. They came here as a team with the big goal of winning one stage. Arnaud De Lie and Maxim Van Gils seemed their best options but after neither of them managed it in the opening 17 stages, Campenaerts has come to Lotto's rescue.

Campenaerts is also reportedly set to be joining Visma-Lease a Bike which is news that emerged from media in Belgium in June, as he set out his sights on this Tour de France and becoming a domestique in future with the Dutch squad:

GC standings at the 2024 Tour de France after stage 18

One man's glory at the Tour de France comes with disappointment for all those who finished behind him. Here's an exhausted and emotional Mattéo Vercher (TotalEnergies) after the finish line, after putting in a valiant effort to come second behind only Campenaerts. After crashing in the neutral zone and being on Tour debut in 2024, he has a lot to be proud of. 

A must watch interview from Campenaerts:

Another stage win goes amiss for Wout van Aert. He is looking in great form before the Paris Olympics but would have wanted to regain that winning feeling ahead of the road race on August 3:

Another successful day in yellow as Pogačar gets through stage 18 safely. His time will come tomorrow when the race takes on the queen stage to Isola 2000. It could be the best chance for rival Vingegaard to close the gap enough and be within striking distance on the similarly tough stage 20 and final time trial into Nice on Sunday. 

Here's a look at the profile for tomorrow's 'anything can happen' hellish 144.6km stage, with three of the hardest climbs of the race all on the same route:

In general, Thursday's stage 18 was a transition stage. But in reality it proved be a highly emotional victory for stage winner Victor Campenaerts. After leading the three-rider break across the finish line, the Belgian tried to focus through tears on his mobile phone as he spoke to his girlfriend Nel, who was with their newborn son Gustaaf. Read Alasdair Fotheringham's account of what Campenaerts said about spending nine weeks at altitude to prepare for Tour de France, Nel giving birth two weeks before they left Sierra Nevada and 'you sacrifice your life, your family, you do everything you can to get ready here'.

Soudal-QuickStep has two riders in the top five of the GC. Read about Mikel Landa supporting Remco Evenepoel, while giving the team options as more mountains loom ahead.

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