Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost) ascended to his second career Tour de France stage win from the breakaway on Thursday's stage 18, where he soloed away from a select group of escapees on the final climb to Orcières-Merlette.
The 33-year-old Ecuadorian attacked and attacked again in the closing kilometers until he found some breathing room, and then he opened up a big gap to those behind. He took the win 45 seconds ahead of Mauro Schmid (Jayco-AlUla) in second, with Matteo Jorgenson (Visma-Lease a Bike) taking third on the day.
Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) and the other GC favorites were content to let the action play out in the breakaway, arriving together to the finish 4:35 behind Carapaz. The only notable change at the top of the overall standings came courtesy of Carapaz himself, who surged to 10th overall with his ride.
[race_result id=17 stage_id=89793 count=5 gc=0 year=2026]
[race_result id=17 stage_id=89793 count=5 gc=5 year=2026]
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