Richard Carapaz puts on a masterclass to win Stage 18 of the 2026 Tour de France at Orcières-Merlette

Richard Carapaz achieved a victory of great merit in stage 18 of the Tour de France 2026, contested between Voiron and Orcières-Merlette over 185.2 kilometers. The Ecuadorian was the strongest rider in a high-level breakaway and decided the day with a decisive attack in the last three kilometers of the final ascent.

Richard Carapaz conquers Orcières-Merlette after being the strongest in the breakaway

Mauro Schmid finished second for the second consecutive day, 45 seconds behind, while Matteo Jorgenson completed the podium with the same time as the Swiss. Valentin Paret-Peintre was fourth and came very close to taking the real lead in the mountain classification.

Behind, the main contenders for the general classification crossed the finish line grouped together. Lenny Martinez was eighth, just ahead of Remco Evenepoel and Tom Pidcock, all at 4:35 behind Carapaz.

A battle of almost two hours to form the breakaway

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The last great opportunity for the breakaway: schedules and key points of stage 18 of the Tour

The first day of the alpine triptych began with an especially intense struggle to enter the breakaway. The route accumulated nearly 4,000 meters of total ascent and presented its first major difficulty just after the first 20 kilometers.

The Côte d’Engins, 11.5 kilometers at 5.4%, quickly selected the peloton and left worrying signs within UAE Team Emirates-XRG. Brandon McNulty and Tim Wellens dropped off early, while Adam Yates continued to be affected by the stomach issues suffered in the previous stage.

After numerous attempts, a first group formed with riders such as Matteo Jorgenson, Mads Pedersen, Thymen Arensman, Tobias Halland Johannessen, Pablo Castrillo, and Felix Engelhardt. Richard Carapaz, Valentin Paret-Peintre, Mauro Schmid, and Raúl García Pierna managed to join later.

The definitive breakaway ended up consisting of 14 cyclists, including Egan Bernal, Romain Grégoire, Mathias Vacek, and the two contenders for the mountain points, Carapaz and Paret-Peintre.

Paret-Peintre scores points, but Carapaz saves energy

Valentin Paret-Peintre took advantage of the early climbs to close in on Tadej Pogacar in the mountain classification. The Frenchman surpassed Carapaz on the Côte d’Engins and again imposed himself on the Côte de Monteynard.

He was also the first on the Côte des Terrasses and the Côte de Saint-Léger-les-Mélèzes, consistently accumulating points throughout the day. However, he needed to finish the stage among the top three to officially become the new leader of the mountain.

Carapaz did not contest all the climbs with the same intensity. The Ecuadorian always stayed close to the Frenchman, but seemed to reserve energy for the stage victory, his main goal of the day.

Meanwhile, Mads Pedersen took advantage of his presence in the breakaway to win the intermediate sprint in Corps and extend his lead over Jasper Philipsen in the battle for the green jersey by 25 points.

Six riders fought for victory

The breakaway began to break apart before the final ascent. Jorgenson, Schmid, Engelhardt, Johannessen, and García Pierna opened a small gap, but Carapaz reacted forcefully and took Paret-Peintre with him.

The selection ultimately left six riders at the front: Richard Carapaz, Matteo Jorgenson, Mauro Schmid, Valentin Paret-Peintre, Tobias Halland Johannessen, and Raúl García Pierna.

The group approached Orcières-Merlette with a sufficient lead to contest the victory. The peloton, initially controlled by UAE, allowed the gap to exceed eight minutes before Pinarello-Q36.5, TotalEnergies, and Tudor began to reduce it to protect their positions in the general classification.

Carapaz seals the victory in Orcières-Merlette

The final ascent was 7.1 kilometers at 6.7%, a fairly regular slope with a dozen hairpin turns.

Jorgenson was the first to try it about 4.5 kilometers from the finish, although his acceleration did not manage to select the group. Shortly after, Carapaz increased the pace in one of the most demanding sections. Paret-Peintre was the only one able to initially follow his wheel, while Schmid and Jorgenson managed to return.

The Ecuadorian attacked again about three kilometers from the finish, and this time no one could respond. Paret-Peintre paid for the effort made throughout the stage in search of the mountain points and lost contact with Schmid and Jorgenson.

Carapaz quickly increased his lead to over half a minute and entered the last kilometer with victory assured. The EF Education-EasyPost rider crossed the finish line with a clenched fist, achieving his second stage victory in the Tour de France.

Schmid finishes second again

Mauro Schmid won the sprint of the chasing group and finished second, 45 seconds behind, repeating the position he achieved the previous day in Voiron.

Matteo Jorgenson was third, also 45 seconds behind, giving Visma-Lease a Bike their first major result after the abandonment of Jonas Vingegaard.

Paret-Peintre crossed the finish line in fourth place at 1:14. The Frenchman completed a very productive day in the mountain classification, although he did not manage to score the necessary points at the finish to officially wear the polka dot jersey.

Tobias Halland Johannessen was fifth, and Raúl García Pierna finished sixth, marking the best result for Movistar Team in the stage.

The favorites arrive together

The battle among the general classification contenders was postponed for the two consecutive stages finishing in Alpe d’Huez.

Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe took the initiative at the start of Orcières-Merlette, but there were no attacks capable of opening gaps between the main favorites. Lenny Martinez led the general group in eighth place, 4:35 behind the winner.

Remco Evenepoel finished ninth and Tom Pidcock tenth, both with the same time. Tadej Pogacar and Isaac Del Toro also arrived within that group, so there were no significant changes among the top candidates before the two decisive stages.

Brandon McNulty abandons the Tour

The day also saw the abandonment of Brandon McNulty. The American had begun to lose contact very early and was riding alone near the broom car.

McNulty was suffering the consequences of having been hit by a vehicle after the time trial of stage 16. He finally put a foot down during the second half of the route, further reducing Pogacar's support block for the alpine stages.

UAE also showed weakness with Wellens and Yates, while Pogacar reached the final part of the day with Felix Grossschartner and Isaac Del Toro as his main supports.

Top 10 of stage 18 of the Tour de France 2026

1. Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost) – 4:26:21
2. Mauro Schmid (Team Jayco AlUla) – at 45 seconds
3. Matteo Jorgenson (Team Visma-Lease a Bike) – at 45 seconds
4. Valentin Paret-Peintre (Soudal Quick-Step) – at 1:14
5. Tobias Halland Johannessen (Uno-X Mobility) – at 1:57
6. Raúl García Pierna (Movistar Team) – at 2:12
7. Pablo Castrillo (Movistar Team) – at 4:30
8. Lenny Martinez (Bahrain Victorious) – at 4:35
9. Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) – at 4:35
10. Tom Pidcock (Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team) – at 4:35

Top 10 of the general classification after stage 18 of the Tour 2026

1. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) – 64:35:13
2. Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) – at 4:32
3. Isaac Del Toro (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) – at 6:51
4. Paul Seixas (Decathlon CMA CGM Team) – at 7:11
5. Juan Ayuso (Lidl-Trek) – at 9:22
6. Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek) – at 10:14
7. Lenny Martinez (Bahrain Victorious) – at 12:50
8. Tom Pidcock (Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team) – at 12:58
9. Jordan Jegat (TotalEnergies) – at 14:04
10. Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost) – at 21:00