Giro d'Italia 2024 stage 18 GC Update: Another day ticked off for Tadej Pogacar towards inevitable Maglia Rosa victory
Cycling
Stage 18 of the Giro d'Italia 2024 was intended to be a transition day before the arrival of the last two mountain challenges and as expected, the victory was decided in a bunch sprint, with Tim Merlier narrowly edging Jonathan Milan in the finale.
Therefore, the Top 10 of the overall classification remains intact ahead of the final showdown in the coming days. Although the drama for the race win is all but over, with Tadej Pogacar only having to worry about finishing the stages given his mammoth, near eight-minute advantage in the general classification over second-placed Daniel Martinez, there will still be much to fight for behind the UAE Team Emirates leader.
The battle between Martinez and Geraint Thomas for 2nd place will be the main attraction on Friday and Saturday. The BORA - hansgrohe rider snatched the place from the INEOS Grenadiers rider last Tuesday, whilst on Wednesday, the Colombian was able to finish strong enough for Thomas not to surprise him on the final climb up the Passo Brocon.
Antonio Tiberi has the chance to continue to complete an outstanding Giro d'Italia. In addition to currently leading the youth classification, although Thymen Arensman is still in the fight after surviving a late mechanical, Tiberi will still have hopes of overtaking Ben O'Connor in the fight for 4th place. Einer Rubio will also have his work cut out for Movistar Team. The Colombian must be ambitious to overtake Romain Bardet in 7th place. Filippo Zana (9th) and Jan Hirt (10th) will race on Friday and Saturday looking to finish inside the Top 10 in the overall classification.
Giro d'Italia 2024 stage 18 GC Update:
| 1 | POGACAR Tadej | UAE Team Emirates | 67:17:02 |
| 2 | MARTINEZ Daniel | BORA-hansgrohe | + 07:42 |
| 3 | THOMAS Geraint | INEOS Grenadiers | + 08:04 |
| 4 | O'CONNOR Ben | Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team | + 09:47 |
| 5 | TIBERI Antonio | Bahrain Victorious | + 10:29 |
| 6 | ARENSMAN Thymen | INEOS Grenadiers | + 11:10 |
| 7 | BARDET Romain | Team dsm-firmenich PostNL | + 12:42 |
| 8 | RUBIO Einer | Movistar Team | + 13:33 |
| 9 | ZANA Filippo | Team Jayco-AlUla | + 13:52 |
| 10 | HIRT Jan | Soudal Quick-Step | + 14:44 |
| 11 | FORTUNATO Lorenzo | Astana Qazaqstan Team | + 16:37 |
| 12 | STORER Michael | Tudor Pro Cycling Team | + 18:27 |
| 13 | PIGANZOLI Davide | Team Polti Kometa | + 22:38 |
| 14 | GESCHKE Simon | Cofidis | + 27:55 |
| 15 | COVILI Luca | VF Group-Bardiani CSF-Faizanè | + 31:56 |
| 16 | MAJKA Rafal | UAE Team Emirates | + 33:44 |
| 17 | PARET-PEINTRE Valentin | Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team | + 41:12 |
| 18 | QUINTANA Nairo | Movistar Team | + 44:52 |
| 19 | CARUSO Damiano | Bahrain Victorious | + 44:55 |
| 20 | POZZOVIVO Domenico | VF Group-Bardiani CSF-Faizanè | + 46:25 |
| 21 | CONCI Nicola | Alpecin-Deceuninck | + 47:58 |
| 22 | BAUDIN Alex | Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team | + 50:43 |
| 23 | VALTER Attila | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | + 54:06 |
| 24 | ALEOTTI Giovanni | BORA-hansgrohe | + 57:53 |
| 25 | PARET-PEINTRE Aurélien | Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team | + 57:54 |
| 26 | RIES Michel | ARKEA-B&B HOTELS | + 01:00:54 |
| 27 | NARVAEZ Jhonnatan | INEOS Grenadiers | + 01:05:58 |
| 28 | VERMAERKE Kevin | Team dsm-firmenich PostNL | + 01:06:00 |
| 29 | ZAMBANINI Edoardo | Bahrain Victorious | + 01:12:49 |
| 30 | VANSEVENANT Mauri | Soudal Quick-Step | + 01:15:45 |
| 31 | LOPEZ Juan Pedro | Lidl-Trek | + 01:21:59 |
| 32 | CHAVES Esteban | EF Education-EasyPost | + 01:24:13 |
| 33 | GROSSSCHARTNER Felix | UAE Team Emirates | + 01:33:10 |
| 34 | STEINHAUSER Georg | EF Education-EasyPost | + 01:35:18 |
| 35 | CALMEJANE Lilian | Intermarché-Wanty | + 01:40:15 |
| 36 | HAMILTON Chris | Team dsm-firmenich PostNL | + 01:40:39 |
| 37 | SCHACHMANN Max | BORA-hansgrohe | + 01:42:24 |
| 38 | WARBASSE Lawrence | Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team | + 01:45:05 |
| 39 | TRATNIK Jan | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | + 01:52:16 |
| 40 | VELASCO Simone | Astana Qazaqstan Team | + 01:54:14 |
| 41 | LEEMREIZE Gijs | Team dsm-firmenich PostNL | + 01:54:20 |
| 42 | TONELLI Alessandro | VF Group-Bardiani CSF-Faizanè | + 01:55:08 |
| 43 | FRIGO Marco | Israel-Premier Tech | + 01:57:31 |
| 44 | VALGREN Michael | EF Education-EasyPost | + 01:59:36 |
| 45 | ALAPHILIPPE Julian | Soudal Quick-Step | + 01:59:52 |
| 46 | MULUBRHAN Henok | Astana Qazaqstan Team | + 02:09:12 |
| 47 | SANCHEZ Pelayo | Movistar Team | + 02:10:43 |
| 48 | BARTA William | Movistar Team | + 02:15:19 |
| 49 | DE MARCHI Alessandro | Team Jayco-AlUla | + 02:21:03 |
| 50 | HERMANS Quinten | Alpecin-Deceuninck | + 02:21:08 |
| 51 | SCHULTZ Nick | Israel-Premier Tech | + 02:21:17 |
| 52 | SHEFFIELD Magnus | INEOS Grenadiers | + 02:21:29 |
| 53 | GHEBREIGZABHIER Amanuel | Lidl-Trek | + 02:21:39 |
| 54 | FERNANDEZ Ruben | Cofidis | + 02:21:54 |
| 55 | VENDRAME Andrea | Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team | + 02:22:00 |
| 56 | MAESTRI Mirco | Team Polti Kometa | + 02:23:16 |
| 57 | SWIFT Ben | INEOS Grenadiers | + 02:23:33 |
| 58 | PLAPP Lucas | Team Jayco-AlUla | + 02:25:42 |
| 59 | PALENI Enzo | Groupama-FDJ | + 02:26:20 |
| 60 | CHAMPION Thomas | Cofidis | + 02:26:58 |
| 61 | SÜTTERLIN Jasha | Bahrain Victorious | + 02:31:53 |
| 62 | PELLIZZARI Giulio | VF Group-Bardiani CSF-Faizanè | + 02:34:25 |
| 63 | BAIS Mattia | Team Polti Kometa | + 02:41:16 |
| 64 | BAGIOLI Andrea | Lidl-Trek | + 02:43:01 |
| 65 | HONORE Mikkel | EF Education-EasyPost | + 02:43:54 |
| 66 | TORRES Albert | Movistar Team | + 02:50:06 |
| 67 | WOOD Harrison | Cofidis | + 02:51:10 |
| 68 | KEPPLINGER Rainer | Bahrain Victorious | + 02:52:07 |
| 69 | TOUZÉ Damien | Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team | + 02:58:48 |
| 70 | STORK Florian | Tudor Pro Cycling Team | + 03:00:45 |
| 71 | BALLERINI Davide | Astana Qazaqstan Team | + 03:03:31 |
| 72 | SERRY Pieter | Soudal Quick-Step | + 03:04:13 |
| 73 | CEPEDA Alexander | EF Education-EasyPost | + 03:05:39 |
| 74 | NOVAK Domen | UAE Team Emirates | + 03:05:55 |
| 75 | FIORELLI Filippo | VF Group-Bardiani CSF-Faizanè | + 03:07:50 |
| 76 | VERRE Alessandro | ARKEA-B&B HOTELS | + 03:09:59 |
| 77 | TRENTIN Matteo | Tudor Pro Cycling Team | + 03:10:17 |
| 78 | BAIS Davide | Team Polti Kometa | + 03:10:41 |
| 79 | DE BOD Stefan | EF Education-EasyPost | + 03:12:43 |
| 80 | COSTIOU Ewen | ARKEA-B&B HOTELS | + 03:14:14 |
| 81 | FOSS Tobias | INEOS Grenadiers | + 03:18:33 |
| 82 | BARTHE Cyril | Groupama-FDJ | + 03:19:44 |
| 83 | PASQUALON Andrea | Bahrain Victorious | + 03:21:51 |
| 84 | GROVES Kaden | Alpecin-Deceuninck | + 03:23:08 |
| 85 | GERMANI Lorenzo | Groupama-FDJ | + 03:24:59 |
| 86 | LAENGEN Vegard Stake | UAE Team Emirates | + 03:25:41 |
| 87 | COLLEONI Kevin | Intermarché-Wanty | + 03:26:45 |
| 88 | ASKEY Lewis | Groupama-FDJ | + 03:26:56 |
| 89 | PLANCKAERT Edward | Alpecin-Deceuninck | + 03:29:29 |
| 90 | GAMPER Patrick | BORA-hansgrohe | + 03:30:28 |
| 91 | SWIFT Connor | INEOS Grenadiers | + 03:30:35 |
| 92 | SMITH Dion | Intermarché-Wanty | + 03:32:26 |
| 93 | TRONCHON Bastien | Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team | + 03:32:30 |
| 94 | MARCELLUSI Martin | VF Group-Bardiani CSF-Faizanè | + 03:35:29 |
| 95 | FABBRO Matteo | Team Polti Kometa | + 03:36:25 |
| 96 | GANNA Filippo | INEOS Grenadiers | + 03:37:10 |
| 97 | CLARKE Simon | Israel-Premier Tech | + 03:39:37 |
| 98 | BAYER Tobias | Alpecin-Deceuninck | + 03:39:55 |
| 99 | STUYVEN Jasper | Lidl-Trek | + 03:42:01 |
| 100 | PICCOLO Andrea | EF Education-EasyPost | + 03:42:08 |
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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What. A. SPRINT. 🤯 Tim Merlier takes his second stage win of the race in an incredible finish to Stage 18 ✌️
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