Pogacar closes in on victory as O’Connor wins stage 18

Tadej Pogacar took a huge step towards winning his fourth Tour de France by racing clear of rival Jonas Vingegaard on the mighty Col de la Loze, as Ben O’Connor claimed victory on stage 18.

Pogacar, 26, powered clear of his closest rival in the final 500 metres to extend his overall lead over two-time champion Vingegaard to four minutes and 26 seconds with just three stages left.

He crossed the line one minute and 45 seconds behind Australian O’Connor, who went solo with 16km remaining.

Vingegaard was third over the line, followed closely by Britain’s Oscar Onley – now just 22 seconds behind Florian Lipowitz in the final general classification podium place following an outstanding ride.

The queen stage of this year’s race featured three iconic climbs, forcing riders to overcome more than 5,500m of elevation in 171.5km of racing.

All three ascents came under the hors categorie – the race’s toughest mountains – with the Col du Glandon and Col de la Madeleine preceding the Col de la Loze.

The Col de la Loze is the mountain on which Pogacar conceded the Tour two years ago, famously telling his team “I’m gone, I’m dead” as Vingegaard disappeared up the road.

But on Thursday, he maintained control throughout a gruelling stage and neutralised Vingegaard’s early attempt to put him under pressure.

Vingegaard, winner in 2022 and 2023, and his Visma-Lease a Bike team successfully isolated the Slovenian from his team-mates inside the final five kilometres of the Col de la Madeleine.

But, after launching his first attack with 70km still remaining, he was unable to apply further pressure and Pogacar regained team-mates before the ascent of the Col de la Loze.

At the front, O’Connor broke clear of Einer Rubio with 16km of climbing ahead of him and the Team Jayco–AlUla rider held on with Pogacar prioritising the defence of his yellow jersey over the stage victory.

Pogacar eventually made a move inside the closing stages, sprinting away from Vingegaard to finish nine seconds clear while collecting six bonus seconds for his second place, to his rival’s four.

Onley, 22, managed to follow Pogacar and Vingegaard to boost his podium hopes and, after seeing Lipowitz struggle on the final climb, will aim to move above the German in another challenging stage on Friday.

Pogacar will look to once again defend the yellow jersey when the final mountain stage of this year’s race takes the riders over five ascents on a 130km route from Albertville to La Plagne – including two more climbs which fall under the hors categorie.

“I’m happy I had good legs and kept the yellow jersey. It was difficult to make any difference today. I was a bit scared of this stage, but it turned out to be a beautiful day,” said Pogacar.