"I had my best day in the Tour so far" - Matteo Jorgenson finally bounces back thanks to a podium result in third week
CyclingThursday, 23 July 2026 at 23:00
The eighteenth stage of 2026 Tour de France was an epic prelude to the decisive Alpine block of action. Ultimately, breakaway stole the spotlight with Richard Carapaz on top. The podium of the stage was completed by Mauro Schmid and finally Matteo Jorgenson, who had his seemingly first better day at this Tour.
The stage finished with a 7-kilometer ascent to Orcières-Merlette. At the foot, we still saw several riders in the leading group, but ultimately the Ecuadorian rider left no room to doubts as he claimed his second career Tour stage win. Behind, Jorgenson and Schmid held a fierce tactical battle for a second place, but ultimately the Swissman had more left in his tank.
"I just gave it my all on the final climb," Jorgenson gasped for breath in front of the NOS camera afterwards. "But I didn’t have much left in my legs, Carapaz was much stronger."
The American further admitted that he knew he couldn't face the Ecuadorian uphill, and thus looked for a more out-of-box approach to victory. However he found no viable opening. "I did believe in it, for sure. I wanted to get away solo before the final climb, somehow. But I couldn’t find a way to do it. So yes, this is disappointing."
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Jorgenson's Tour so far has not been much to take pride in. Vingegaard's key mountain domestique arrived at a sub-ideal shape and struggled to keep up with the group of favourites in key moments. And in addition, he crashed during stage 10. So today's podium is finally a ray of hope to the rest of the race. And the rest of 2026 season too.
"I think I was pretty good. I had my best day in the Tour so far. That's nice, but I wasn't strong enough for the win," he concluded.
Podium was maximum
On contrary, Jorgenson's rival in today's stage finale - Mauro Schmid - is enjoying quite a productive Grande Boucle. The Swissman continues to perform at an extremely high level throughout the race, securing his third podium - second runner-up result in a row - in span of one week.
"Today, I’m happier than yesterday because there’s no shame in getting dropped by Carapaz on a climb like this. He was clearly the strongest in this group and I was just super happy to be in the breakaway and make it across. Having Felix there was really good because he brought me in a really good situation and gave me a little bit of a head start, so it was really good.
Mauro Schmid wins the stage 13 at the 2026 Tour de France
"It was a big fight to get into the breakaway, as expected, on the first climb and then over the top I thought it was pretty much done. We were quite happy to have Felix there but then after the downhill I found myself on the front. First with Ben Healy and then Mathias Vacek and some other guys, who were just sitting on. We thought maybe it wasn’t such a bad situation. Then we came across and it was pretty nice."
Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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- Can't stay on top forever.Veganpotter24-07-2026
- so stoked for him - what a great guymij24-07-2026
- the reaction to these comments seem a bit overblown - he stated the obvious - that the team is here to support Mads, but then says he's ok with that too and it is a special thing.mij24-07-2026
- At age 20? Know refugees that i grew up with that fled their country at age 12 and they grew up well adjusted, civil and courteous. Ripped away? From the USA?
Andrew24-07-2026 - Clown guy on his keyboard!frieders324-07-2026
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