LIVE - Tour de France Stage 18 - Can the breakaway hold off Pogacar, Evenepoel and the GC contenders?
CyclingThursday, 23 July 2026 at 11:50
Good morning and welcome to the liveblog of Stage 18 of the Tour de France. Today's stage takes the peloton over a demanding route, culminating with the summit finish at Orcières-Merlette. It could be the perfect opportunity for a strong breakaway to fight for victory, while we should also expect an intense battle as the riders begin their build-up to the decisive Alpine double-header, featuring Alpe d'Huez on Friday and Saturday. So stay with us over the next few hours and don't miss any of the action, key moments and developments from today's stage, live and minute by minute.
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Carlos Silva is a writer for CiclismoAtual.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he contributes race reports, interviews, analysis pieces, and live coverage of the international cycling calendar. Holding a degree in Sports from the Jean Piaget Institute, he combines academic knowledge of performance, training, and competition with hands-on journalism experience in professional cycling.
Throughout his career, Carlos has conducted interviews with leading figures in the sport, including Alberto Contador, Joaquim Rodríguez, Óscar Pereiro, João Almeida, Isaac del Toro, Derek Gee, John Degenkolb and Geraint Thomas. These conversations reflect direct engagement with Grand Tour winners, Classics specialists, and emerging talents.
He has provided on-site coverage at major events ranging from the Vuelta a España to the Tour de France, alongside stage races such as Vuelta a Andalucía, Volta ao Algarve, Volta a Portugal and O Gran Camiño. Covering the mythical climbs of the Giro d'Italia remains one of his professional ambitions.
Carlos is responsible for liveblog coverage of all major WorldTour races and beyond, including the Tour de France, Giro d'Italia and Vuelta a España. His reporting integrates verified data from ProCyclingStats to ensure statistical accuracy, contextual depth, and analytical precision.
A lifelong cycling enthusiast, he approaches storytelling across written, photographic, and video formats with a focus on credibility, tactical insight, and informed race interpretation.
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- The organisers’ optimism suggests that the Vuelta a España 2026 could feature one of the biggest possible attractions for cycling fans because of Tadej Pogačar - THE GOAT !!! The Spanish fans love Pogi, just like the Italians, on contrary, the French are giving him the middle finger (caught on camera)... the French are booing him (caught on camera)... the French media is implying or hinting that Pogi might be doping. What's going to be next... spitting or throwing urine into Pogi's face???mus-musculuspeedypogigonzales23-07-2026
- Love the guy but I hope he doesn't. We need a grand tour that has a genuine competition in it for GC.Cyclingsbestfan23-07-2026
- "(...) and why not the rest of the top ten?" Unfortunately in the rest of TOP 10 is a french rider which is somehow invisible for ITA.averagecyclist23-07-2026
- Oh he is. Was mentioned here somewhere. Also ironic if you consider the behaviour of american fans at the Ryder Cup.
Andrew23-07-2026 - LA Doper with drug testing whining ... not unexpected!frieders323-07-2026
- The headline is kind of click bait-y. Watch the YouTube clip yourselves. I don't think the headline is what I took out of the discussion. If I had to summarise, Geraint doesn't really assign blame, but it's kind of inferred that he probably thinks Campenaerts is to blame for following the moto and as a result, goes round the roundabout too hot. Geraint does say outright that he doesn't blame the 2am testing given that the peloton had already ridden through lots of dodgy corners safely earlier in the stage. I think this has been the key debate every fan has been discussing (whether the 2am testing had an impact) - I know there was even some heated debates on the Escape Collective comments, which is usually quite civilised...Pogboom23-07-2026
- If he’s American that’s extremely ironic considering how many of them consider Trump to be a goat (I don’t like shouting).Jumpyjohn23-07-2026
- First of all, there is no 100 fine so most likely a typo. Secondly there are dozens of regulation breaches, each with different severity so no surprise to see differences in punishment (a bit like you when driving through a red light or not stopping at a pedestrian crossing. You need to do more homework to find details if it interests you.Jumpyjohn23-07-2026
- Says the prototype stereotypical american who although now lives elsewhere is an americam by birth.Andrew23-07-2026
- "Stage 16 (...) - DS Steven De Jongh (Lidl-Trek) fined 2,000CHF for breaching regulations or guidelines concerning vehicle movements during the race. (...)" "Stage 17 (...) - Team Visma | Lease a Bike DS Arthur van Dongen: Breach of regulations or guidelines concerning vehicle movements during the race and failure to comply with the instructions of commissaires. 100CHF fine, Yellow card, DS relegation (loss of positions in the convoy)." Lidl-Trek DS, 2000CHF fine, Visma DS 100CHF fine?Lobz7722-07-2026
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