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Carapaz Wins Stage 18, Cuts KOM Gap; Pogacar Holds Yellow

7/24/2026

Summary

Carapaz Solo Win

Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost) won Stage 18 with a solo climb attack.
He finished 45 seconds ahead of Mauro Schmid (Jayco-AlUla) and Matteo Jorgenson (Visma-Lease a Bike).
The win moved Carapaz to 10th overall, 21 minutes behind the leader.
Tadej Pogacar kept the yellow jersey with a 4 min 32 sec lead over Remco Evenepoel.
Carapaz cut the King-of-the-Mountains gap to seven points, leaving Valentin Paret-Peintre one point from the polka-dot jersey.

Summary

Carapaz Breaks Away

Orcières-Merlette hosted its first Tour de France finish since 2020, with a 185.2 km stage climbing the cat-1 Côte d’Engins (11.5 km, 5.4 %) and a final 7 % ascent.
Ben Healy, Georg Steinhauser and Kasper Asgreen of EF Education-EasyPost worked the climbs to place Richard Carapaz in the break.
Mads Pedersen and Jasper Philipsen contested the sprint on the Côte des Terrasses for green-jersey points, recalling the 2020 Covid-era finish that drew a crowd.

History

Historical Context

Armstrong’s decisive win on the Col du Galibier in Stage 12 of the 1999 Tour de France propelled him to overall victory, beating Alex Zülle by 7 minutes 37 seconds. The race, notable for its first French-stage-winner drought since 1926, later saw his title stripped in 2012 after USADA exposed a systematic doping program.

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Carapaz Solo Win

Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost) won Stage 18 with a solo climb attack.
He finished 45 seconds ahead of Mauro Schmid (Jayco-AlUla) and Matteo Jorgenson (Visma-Lease a Bike).
The win moved Carapaz to 10th overall, 21 minutes behind the leader.
Tadej Pogacar kept the yellow jersey with a 4 min 32 sec lead over Remco Evenepoel.
Carapaz cut the King-of-the-Mountains gap to seven points, leaving Valentin Paret-Peintre one point from the polka-dot jersey.

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