Results Tour de France 2026 stage 18 - Richard Carapaz wins in Orcières-Merlette as breakaway take glory in the Alps
CyclingThursday, 23 July 2026 at 17:26
The Tour de France has returned to the Alps and for the first time in this race, a mountain stage has been captured by the breakaway. After weeks of trying, Richard Carapaz has finally gotten a win, crossing the line in first place on stage 18 at the Orcières-Merlette summit finish.
The stage had a flat start but right from the first kilometers there were moves to form a breakaway, trying to anticipate the first climb of the day. In the 11-kilometer long ascent, there was resistance from Tadej Pogacar whose strong positioning who did not allow for strong groups to go up the road throughout the whole ascent whilst many attacked off the front.
It took almost 70 kilometers of racing for a breakaway to go up the road, on a stage that was widely believed to be won by the front group. The battles were non-stop, and amongst the chaos Mads Pedersen took advantage of great legs to score the maximum points in the intermediate sprint, once again creating a sizeable gap to Jasper Philipsen.
Shortly after the sprint the first breakaway group - a second larger one never made it to the head of the race - split, with Jorgenson, Engelhardt, Schmid, Johannessen and Pierna going up the road. Carapaz and Valentin Paret-Peintre bridged across the gap whilst Engelhardt was dropped; forming the new head of the race and the group that would fight for the stage win.
So as to avoid Carapaz' advantage from escalating and truly taking over the Top10; Pinarello - Q36.5, Tudor and TotalEnergies allied behind to close a few minutes of the breakaway's gap - whilst his ascent to Top10 looked inevitable nevertheless due to the late reaction.
Carapaz' winning attack
Valentin Paret-Peintre, Richard Carapaz, Matteo Jorgenson, Tobias Johannessen, Mauro Schmid and Raúl García Pierna entered the final climb with several minutes over the closest group, and 5 minutes over the peloton. But only with 4 kilometers to go did Richard Carapaz launch the first serious move, followed by Paret-Peintre.
After the pace slowed down, shortly after Carapaz made another move, just as explosive and this time creating a gap over the rest. The EF Education-EasyPost rider was the strongest out of the front group and the way the gap exploded following his attack made that evident.
Paret-Peintre cracked whilst Matteo Jorgenson and Mauro Schmid began the chase behind, but without hopes of reaching the front. Carapaz took the stage win for EF Education-EasyPost, the first of the American team in this year's Tour. Schmid sprinted to second on the day ahead of Jorgenson.
The GC group arrived just over 4:30 minutes behind, without attacks or differences at the line.
Read also
Results Tour de France 2026 stage 18
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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- Agreed. Saw him beat Pat Cash in 1992. Great game it was.
Andrew23-07-2026 - No REDICULOUS middle of the night drug tests ?captmike23-07-2026
- No REDICULOUS middle of the night drug tests ?captmike23-07-2026
- 45? You have got to be shitting me. Reading the garbage you spew about those who do not support your chosen idol makes you seem a 14.5 year old and in the middle of a teenage crush. Not supporting Pog is not the same as hating him. It is possible to admire one rider yet support a different rider. Hate - Hate is what spews out of your mouth for those who have the spine to not support the person most likey to win. Me? Boo and spit? Dream on. Liar? Pffft.Andrew23-07-2026
- I think Simmons could have won if you look at his performances on stage 15. A little too shallow for Kuss, I would say. When they predict Tadej Pogačar to win it is usually quite accurate (not a very big feat, that). When they predict others it is harder but occasionally they get it right
Rafionain-Glas23-07-2026 - Well done Carapaz, always enjoy his attitude to racing in the mountainshammerheadhelmet23-07-2026
- first yates, now mcnulty and wellens; uae team not doing so well after the middle of the night drug tests but yeah, tell me about the virus going around.whkman23-07-2026
- Please quote the Pogačar haters. Thank you.RidesHills23-07-2026
- I really like Carapaz and it is superb that he has this win.RidesHills23-07-2026
- Stage win in Paris on Stage 21? That's more prestigious than the green jersey in my opinion. i'd rather see MvdP fight Pogi on the last stage like Wout did last yearmobk23-07-2026
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