The Ecuadorian Richard Carapaz, offensive as ever, won the 18th stage of the Tour de France alone on Thursday July 23 at the summit of Orcières-Merlette during the first part of the alpine triptych.
The leader of the EF Education team extricated himself from a group of six escaped riders 3.5 kilometers from the finish to sign his second victory on the Grande Boucle after that won at Superdévoluy in 2024.
🚂 The Carchi Locomotive 🇪🇨 #TDF2026 pic.twitter.com/fd8fpJmTz8
— Tour de France™ (@LeTour) July 23, 2026
I manage my choices I authorize
The Tokyo Olympic champion won 45 seconds ahead of Swiss Mauro Schmid and American Matteo Jorgenson. Frenchman Valentin Paret-Peintre finished fourth at 1:14.
The general ranking
1. Tadej Pogacar (SLO/UAD)
2. Remco Evenepoel (BEL/RBH) at 4:32.
3. Isaac Del Toro (MEX/UAD) 6:51.
4. Paul Seixas (FRA/DCT) 7:11.
5. Juan Ayuso (ESP/LTK) 9:22.
6. Mattias Skjelmose (DEN/LTK) 10:14.
7. Lenny Martinez (FRA/TBV) 12:50.
8. Tom Pidcock (GBR/Q36) 12:58.
9. Jordan Jegat (FRA/TEN) 14:04.
10. Richard Carapaz (ECU/EFE) 21:00.
Friday’s stage
For the 19th stage, the riders will start from Gap. “The climb to Alpe d’Huez shows two faces for the first time and why not offers the possibility of reshuffling the cards over two days. The required exercises are very different, with in this first part an ultra-dynamic route which will perhaps tempt some to project themselves from the climb to the Col Bayard, then to hold the shock at the Col du Noyer and the Col d’Ornon. There will then remain the famous climb of 21 turns to tame. A hell of a challenge for the ambitious,” analyzes Christian Prudhomme, director of the Tour de France.
