July 23, 2026 · Stage 18 · Voiron to Orcières-Merlette
Richard Carapaz finally turned three weeks of attacking into a stage victory. The Ecuadorian escaped from the break on the road to Orcières-Merlette and finished alone, delivering EF Education-EasyPost the Alpine win its aggression had been threatening while the yellow-jersey group conserved its largest battles for two days on Alpe d'Huez.
The break earned its day
With 3,900 metres of climbing and the two hardest summit finishes still ahead, Stage 18 created a narrow tactical window. A strong break spent nearly 150 kilometres ahead, and Carapaz again put himself in the right move after repeated near-misses earlier in the Tour. Valentin Paret-Peintre's presence kept the mountains classification active, but Carapaz was riding for the stage.
On the final ascent, the Ecuadorian combined patience with one clean separation. He drove away from the remaining escapees and never allowed the chasers to rebuild a cooperative pursuit. The result was only his second Tour stage victory, but it carried the authority of a rider who had been trying to manufacture this exact day since the opening week.
Yellow stays measured
Behind the stage race, Pogačar and Evenepoel treated Orcières-Merlette as the opening movement of a three-day Alpine conclusion rather than the decisive summit. The gradients created selections, but not the kind of sustained GC attack that could meaningfully threaten Pogačar's lead.
That restraint mattered because Stage 19 and Stage 20 both finished on Alpe d'Huez. Carapaz took the immediate prize; the yellow jersey kept his team and his energy aligned for the deeper tests to come.
A win that opened another contest
Carapaz's victory gave him more than a stage. It validated the repeated breakaway strategy that would carry into the queen stage and sharpened his interest in the polka-dot jersey. Orcières-Merlette was not the end of his Tour—it was the point where his final-week campaign began paying out.
