Richard Carapaz wins Stage 18 as Tour heads to Alpe d'Huez

sportsJul 24, 202668901

Ecuadorian Richard Carapaz won Stage 18 of the Tour de France after a decisive attack four kilometres from the finish in Orcières-Merlette. The 185-kilometre stage ran from Voiron to Orcières-Merlette and was billed as a determinate mountain day in the heart of the Alps. Carapaz crossed the line 45 seconds ahead of Swiss rider Mauro Schmid of Jayco Ulula and American Matteo Jorgenson of Visma Lease a Bike. The victory is Carapaz's second on the Tour de France, his ninth Grand Tour stage win and the 25th win of his professional career. Frenchman Valentin Paret-Peintre of Soudal Quick-Step finished fourth and extended his bid for the polka dot jersey after collecting the day’s classified climbs. The race now turns to Stage 19, a short but brutal 127.9-kilometre mountain stage with roughly 3,500 metres of climbing that finishes on the iconic Alpe d'Huez, setting up a high-stakes showdown on the 21 hairpin ascent.

Cillian Kelly

@cilliankelly.bsky.social

As the Tour de France makes its way to Alpe d’Huez, a reminder of the most absurd thing anyone has ever made related to Alpe d’Huez. It took me one year of Tweeting every word of Phil Liggett’s commentary on the finale of the 1986 stage as the first word of all my Tweets. Enjoy!

8445d ago

Adam Schuster4

This is sicko level work. And I’m here for it.

Quoting this

Chancer On A Bike4

Fantastic A real demonstration of Cillian’s commitment @petercossins.bsky.social

Geology of the Tour de France

@geotdf.bsky.social

Alpe d'Huez day! Two years ago, Marjolein made this clip for the @le-tourdefrance.bsky.social Femmes about how the Alpe is folding without breaking! Enjoy the climb! And the spectacular folds...

5244d ago

Quoting this

Douwe van Hinsbergen20

Two years ago, we made a clip about the Geology of Alpe d'Huez! Enjoy today's climb!

the Inner Ring blog

@inrng.com

Richard Carapaz (EF Education First-Easypost) wins Stage 18 of the Tour de France

6245d ago

Domestique

@domestiquecycling.com

Supersonic 🇸🇮 Tadej Pogacar shatters Marco Pantani’s 31-year-old Alpe d’Huez record 📰 www.domestiquecycling.com/en/news/poga... 📸 Cor Vos

4944d ago

Kevin Coombes9

Hmm. Still seems funny that the other nine fastest times, that Pogaĉar just best, were achieved by people that we know were doping.

Jan-Joost8

Remco is now in this list as well, by the way.

Woody4

And everyone below had doped.

Juan S. Z3

According to Strava, those 3 would be just after Pogačar and before Pantani 2 Paul Seixas 35:07 3 Arthur Blanc 35:38 4 jack burke 35:56

cymroct.bsky.social2

And without a single team mate, or any other rider… Nothing to see here, nothing to see here at all.

Quoting this

Erik15

Alle darunter haben gottlos gedopt. Zum Glück ist Pogacar sauber.

Brian Ditlev14

Hvad har alle (pånær Pogacar, indtil videre) navne på den liste til fælles?

Ryan Robison7

Pogačar with a case of the bubble guts beats the times of a bunch of notorious dopers. Nothing to see here...

Opinionated Cyclist4

Impressive but this has a tarnished appearance to it.

Mikkel Ottesen Lønstrup🦁4

The names on the list below says it all. 🤷🏼‍♂️

🔞Mx Wred's haunted brain 🔞3

My dad may have got me in to riding but it was Mom that got me in to racing, at least spectating. I wonder what she would have thought about today's stage compared to Stage 16, 2004 (Lance was 3'9" slower on a far slower bike and actually doped to the gills).

Ian P2

*looks at others on that list* Hmmm…

Tiago 2

O Pogacar a pulverizar todos os tempos de subida ao Alp d'Huez, com excepção do Indurain, foram todos apanhados com doping.

Marcus Krueger2

Bei diesen Zahlen läuft die Stoppuhr länger, deshalb die 35:xx. Ansonsten: Es ist alles unvergleichbar. Viel zu viele Drittvariablen. #tdf

David Ho

@davidho.bsky.social

There are very few sporting events that can rival a race up Alpe d'Huez.

5844d ago

T. Boone Doggle2

People here in the US still laugh/get annoyed when I say the TdF is the toughest sporting event in the world. and we get 2 Alpe d'Huez..es!

Matthew Cobb2

It was astonishing. Always is. But this time especially. One of the trio could have won if they hadn’t messed around so much, but Pogačar was utterly relentless.

robyn

@robynemz.bsky.social

pure love for the game from richard carapaz this must be his 500,000th attack in the last few kilometres

5344d ago

Michael Hutchinson

@doctorhutch.bsky.social

It's not fair that Pogačar gets to ride up an obviously less-steep Alpe d'Huez than everyone else.

3244d ago

Velon CC

@veloncc.bsky.social

Pogi knew it was a matter of time 👀 Tadej Pogačar was certain Richard Carapaz would win a stage of the Tour de France, despite twice catching and passing him to victory on Stages 10 and 14. Carapaz finally got his reward with a brilliant solo win on Stage 18. _____ 🇫🇷#TDF2026

2945d ago

Tim Bonville-Ginn

@timbonvilleginn.bsky.social

Tadej Pogačar 🇸🇮 DEMOLISHES the Marco Pantani 🇮🇹 Alpe d'Huez record that has stood since before I was born!

3044d ago

Real Gaz on a proper bike: [email protected]

@gazza-d.bsky.social

Alpe D'Huez. Been there. Done that. Died a thousand deaths cos it's blooming hard. there is a lovely campsite at the foot though. I'm on the far left.

Me (on the far left) and some mates after climbing the iconic Alpe D'Huez

2945d ago

Dr Elisa Perego

@elisaperego78.bsky.social

A virus or illness would be spreading through Team UAE Emirates, the squad of Tour de France leader Tadej Pogačar. Several riders would be unwell. Wellness has been noted to struggle and admitted respiratory illness. He also suggested other UAE racers were ill www.theguardian.com/sport/2026/j...

1345d ago

Dr Elisa Perego1

"After Adam Yates’s stage-long calvary on the road to Voiron, Pogacar’s team was further weakened by the abandonment of his American colleague, Brandon McNulty, who quit the Tour with 21km of Thursday’s stage remaining."

Tour de France Hommes

@letour.stadio.top

🇪🇨 Richard Carapaz attacks and opens up a gap at the front of the race! No one seems able to keep up with the Ecuadorian! 😬 🇪🇨 Richard Carapaz attaque et fait le trou en tête de course ! Personne ne semble pouvoir suivre l'équatorien ! 😬 #TDF2026

1945d ago

Mark Allen

@markallen.io

Watching Richard Carapaz attack in the mountains is such a delight. It feels like he's the purest embodiment of vintage climbers in the modern peloton, and impossible to root against.

Richard Carapaz climbs through cheering roadside crowds in the Alps on his way to winning Stage 18 of the 2026 Tour de France.

1845d ago

ammattipyöräily

@ammattipyoraily.bsky.social

🇫🇷 #TDF2026, Stage 19 ⛰️🏁 ALPE D'HUEZ (13.80 km, 8.11 %, 1119 m) 🪡 21 hairpins await on Friday. Last time was in 2022. _____ (📷 cycling-challenge com)

1745d ago

Dan Deakins

@dandeakins.bsky.social

Most of the time, I find 'witnessing greatest' quite dull. A 2 hour solo and a foregone conclusion is not interesting to me. That, however, was special. New Alpe d'Huez record 💛🎩

Pogacar celebrates winning stage 19 of the 2026 Tour de France on Alpe d'Huez

1844d ago

3 sources

jeanmarcmorandini.comAudiences Tour de France : Le triomphe de Richard Carapaz à Orcières-Merlette pour la 18e étape diffusée en direct sur France 2 devant plus de 3,8 millions de téléspectateurs lvz.deTour de France heute: Mythos Alpe d’Huez! Beißt sich die Konkurrenz in den 21 Kehren fest?lemonde.frTour de France 2026 : le parcours de la dix-neuvième étape (Gap - l’Alpe-d’Huez)

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Richard Carapaz wins Stage 18 as Tour heads to Alpe d'Huez

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