Richard Carapaz claims stage 18 victory in French Alps

By Harry Sutton — 23 July 2026 — 3 min read

Richard Carapaz of EF Education-Easypost secured victory in stage 18 of the Tour de France, marking his second career stage win in the event. The Ecuadorian rider launched a decisive breakaway in the mountainous 185.2km stage from Voiron to Ocieres Merlette, the first of three challenging days in the French Alps.

Carapaz finished 45 seconds ahead of Mauro Schmid (Jayco-Alula) and Matteo Jorgenson (Visma-Lease a Bike). His aggressive riding style was evident as he accelerated away from rivals on the final climb to Orcières-Merlette, a 7.1km ascent with an average gradient of 6.7 per cent.

Carapaz’s decisive attack

The stage saw several breakaways throughout the day. Carapaz was part of a front group that swelled to 14 riders at one point. As the race approached its decisive moments, Jorgenson attempted an attack with 25km remaining, but was marked. The lead group, which included Carapaz, Jorgenson, Schmid, Valentin Paret-Peintre (Soudal Quick-Step), Tobias Halland Johannessen (Uno X Mobility), and Raul Garcia Pierna (Movistar), maintained a lead of over three minutes over the first chase group as they began the final climb.

With 4km left on the final climb, Carapaz launched a strong attack, initially followed only by Paret-Peintre. Schmid and Jorgenson then bridged the gap to the two attackers. However, Carapaz accelerated again, creating a gap that his rivals could not close, allowing him to solo to the finish line.

Challenges for UAE Team Emirates-XRG

Meanwhile, the overall leader, Tadej Pogacar of UAE Team Emirates-XRG, faced challenges within his squad. Key domestique Brandon McNulty abandoned the race mid-stage due to sickness. This follows Adam Yates, another teammate, falling ill and vomiting after stage 16’s time trial, and subsequently riding slowly and finishing significantly behind in the following stages.

Pogacar, who is 27, maintains a lead of four minutes 32 seconds over Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) in the general classification. He also holds a lead of six minutes 51 seconds over his teammate Isaac del Toro. Pogacar currently wears the yellow jersey and also retains the King of the Mountains jersey by a single point, with Del Toro holding the white young rider’s jersey.

The loss of two domestiques could be significant for Pogacar, especially with the upcoming stages. The next two stages are set to be particularly demanding, both concluding on the iconic Alpe d’Huez, and will feature a total of four uncategorised climbs.

General Classification and other jerseys

Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) extended his lead in the green jersey classification by 32 points, though he remains vulnerable to Jasper Philipsen. Carapaz’s victory also improved his position in the King of the Mountains competition, placing him third, seven points behind Pogacar.

The current general classification standings after stage 18 show Pogacar in the lead with a total time of 64 hours 35 minutes 13 seconds. Evenepoel is in second place, followed by Del Toro in third. Carapaz’s stage win moved him into 10th place overall, 21 minutes behind Pogacar.

The Tour de France continues with more challenging mountain stages in the Alps, leading up to its conclusion.

Source: bbc.co.uk