Felix Schröder and Stefan Tabeling, dpa
Even Tadej Pogacar needs to take it a bit easier now and then. The superstar and his team, who are struggling with health issues, saved some energy ahead of the next gruelling Alpine stages of the Tour de France – several team-mates were unable to support the 27-year-old. Brandon McNulty even withdrew from the race, completely exhausted.
At the mountain finish in Orcières-Merlette, the exceptional Slovenian rider crossed the line in 13th place following the stage victory of Ecuadorian Richard Carapaz, who, as part of a breakaway on Stage 18, had attacked four kilometres from the finish whilst riding in a group. After 185.2 kilometres, starting in Voiron, Switzerland’s Mauro Schmid finished second and the American Matteo Jorgenson third.
Pogacar remains well clear in the lead
Tour dominator Pogacar had to postpone his 26th Tour stage victory. In 2020, he finished second at Orcières-Merlette behind his compatriot Primož Roglič, who is not currently competing in the Tour.
Pogacar continues to dominate the overall standings. If he stays fit, he is on course for his fifth Tour de France overall victory on Sunday in Paris. The Slovenian remains in first place, holding a comfortable lead of 4 minutes and 32 seconds over the Belgian Remco Evenepoel. Third is the Mexican Isaac del Toro – Pogacar’s team-mate – 6 minutes and 51 seconds behind.
Pogacar’s team facing problems
An illness appears to be doing the rounds in Pogacar’s team. After stomach problems had slowed Adam Yates down somewhat the previous day, several of his teammates struggled to maintain their performance on Stage 18. Team-mate McNulty eventually found himself unable to keep up and got off his bike. “He was on his own for 50 kilometres,” was the announcement over the team radio.
Felix Engelhardt was once again among the leading group, wearing his German champions’ jersey. For a long time, the professionals were unable to establish a significant gap over the peloton, before the lead gradually increased – and everything pointed to a breakaway victory. Later, however, Engelhardt fell back.
The total of 3,900 metres of climbing over 185 kilometres proved a tough challenge to kick off the Alpine stage, which culminates on Saturday in the gruelling mountain climb to Alpe d’Huez. On this year’s Tour’s queen stage, 5,650 metres of climbing await the professionals, including no fewer than three climbs of the highest category.
Friday sees the first of two stages to the cycling mecca. After four years, the route heads back up to the legendary ski resort of Alpe d’Huez. However, this stage is still considerably easier than the queen stage. The route covers 127.9 kilometres from Gap to the winter sports resort. The tour finishes in Paris on Sunday.
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