After a solo ride of nearly 23km, Ben O’Connor (Jayco – AlUla) won Stage 18 of the 2025 Tour de France, the queen stage. Pogacar comes across 1’46” later for second, with Vingegaard taking third seconds later.
Stage 18 of the 2025 Tour de France is the race’s queen stage, serving up three hors categorie climbs with 5450m of climbing over its xx kilometers, including the Col de Madeline. Although the sun was shining on the start line in Vif, the weather for this will be as daunting as its mountain passes. The skies will be overcast and rain is expected throughout the day, with storms forecast for the climb to Courchevel – Col de la Loze. Temperatures will vary widely, from 23ºC in the valley between Glandon and Madeleine to 10ºC, which will make the riders shiver at the top of the climbs.
The stage starts two men down, as Cyril Barthe (Groupama-FDJ) and Carlos Rodriguez (Ineos Grenadiers) retired overnight due to injuries suffered in a crash late in Stage 17.
Right out of the neutral start, it was Lidl-Trek making a move. Jasper Stuyven set a strong pace, with Edward Theuns, Jasper Stuyven, Jonathan Milan, Simone Consonni and Thibau Nys. With the first intermedite sprint at km 23.7, they want to take their opportunity to rack up more points for sprint leader Milan.
Milan takes the top points, and an attack comes immediately after. Wout Van Aert goes, followed by Tim Wellens, Jonas Abrahamsen, Matej Mohoric, Quinn Simmons and others.
At km26, it was Wellens all alone at the front. Matteo Jorgensen tried to bridge, but got pulled back by the pack nearly 40 riders on the chase.
Wout van Aert makes another go, this time, with Kaden Groves (Alpecin-Deceuninck) on his wheel. Jonas Rutsch and Alexey Lutenko jump on as well. That quartet trailed Wellens by 10 seconds.
At km36, Van Aert, Rutsch, Groves and Lutsenko all catch Wellens. Matteo Vercher (Total Energies) trails by 15”. Ben O’Connor (Jayco AlUla), Santiago Buitrago (Bahrain Victorious), Ivan Romeo (Movsitar), Sam Watson (Ineos Grenadiers) and Marius Mayrhofer (Tudor) attack from the bunch.
The leaders started up the Col du Glandon (21.7km at 5.1%). Wellens, Van Aert, Rutsch, Groves and Lutsenko lead the way with Vercher, O’Connor, Buitrago, Romeo, Watson and Mayrhofer trailing by 25”. Ineos Grenadiers drive the bunch, with a gap of 50”.
Rutsch dropped as the climb begins in earnest, and many riders were being shed from the back of the peloton as well.
Jorgensen attacked from the bunch and managed to catch O’Connor. Back at the front, it was the duo of Wellens and Lutsenko setting a strong pace that few could keep.
With 128km to go, Roglic made an attack with Jorgensen in tow. They are soon with Lenny Martinez and Gregor Muhlberger, 15 seconds behind Wellens and Lutsenko.
Storer and Arensman set off from the peloton. Soler pulls the bunch, while more riders such as Armirail, Woods, Leknessund, Barta and Garcia Pierna have joined the chase group with Roglic, Jorgenson, Gall and Lenny Martinez.
Wellens and Lutsenko were caught 16.5km from the summit. Joining them at the front were Jorgenson, Martinez, Arensman, Roglic, O’Connor (Jayco AlUla), Garcia Pierna, Barta, Muhlberger, Rubio, Gall, Armirail, Woods and Leknessund. Luke Plapp (Jayco AlUla), Cristian Rodriguez (Arkéa-B&B Hotels), Enric Mas, Pablo Castrillo (Movistar), Jordan Jegat (Total Energies), Frank van den Broek (Picnic PostNL) chase by 25” with Nils Politt (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) pulling the bunch with a gap of 55”.
With 7km to the summit, Martinez struggled but was hanging on. Jegat, Cr. Rodriguez, Berthet, Baudin, Woods, Van den Broek and Plapp still chased 50 seconds behind the leaders while the gap to the bunch was stable at 1’40”.
At the summit, it was Martinez going first ahead of Arensman. Jorgensen crossed the summit in third position.
On the backside of the Col de Glandon, Baudin caught Leknessund and they soon made to Martinez.
With 3km to go to the start of the Col de Madeline (19.2km @ 7.9%), it was Jorgenson and Arensman leading the chasers by 30 seconds.
Garcia Pierna and Lutsenko were dropped from the chase group, while Lenny Martinez (Bahrain Victorious) is caught by the peloton, now trailing by 3’05”. Marc Soler takes over for UAE Team Emirates-XRG at the front of the bunch. They’re about to catch Clément Berthet.
Armirail, Gall, Roglic, O’Connor, Rubio and Baudin caught Arensman and Jorgenson with 13.5km left to the summit. The peloton moved closer, just 2’55” back.
Roglic drove the breakaway into the last 10 km to Col de la Madeleine. He was trailed by Gall, Arensman, O’Connor, Jorgenson, Baudin and Rubio. The GC group trailed by 1’50”.
The GC group continued to chase hard and with 5km to the summit, had moved within a minute of the leaders.
Vingegaard attacked the GC group with Pogacar in tow. They soon caught the leaders. Jorgensen moved to set the pace for the break group. Jorgenson, Vingegaard, Pogacar, Gall, Roglic, O’Connor and Rubio were 3 km away from the summit. Lipowitz trailed by 30” and the group with Onley was only 40” further behind.
Vingegaard went first at the summit. Arensman trailed by 20”, Lipowitz by 30. Vauquelin and Jegat enter the last kilometre of ascent with a gap of 3’45”.
With 50km to go, Jorgenson still drove the front group on the downhill. Lipowitz caught Arensman. They are 40” behind the leaders. The Onley group were 1’50” further behind.
The leaders are back in the valley with 15km to the base of the Col de la Loze, the final climb of the day.
O’Connor and Rubio attack with Jorgenson following. They decide to work together, and push the gap to the yellow jersey group to 1’15” with 36 km to go.
Onto the climb to Col de la Loze, it was Jorgenson, O’Connor and Rubio starting the 26.4-km ascent (average gradient: 6.5%) with
Lipowitz trailing by 1 minute. The gap to the Pogacar group was up to 2’50”.
With 24km to go, Jorgensen was dropped. O’Connor and Rubio were still working together. Lipowitz had moved a little closer, but the peloton slid back to a gap of 3’35”. Soler, who was leading the peloton, cracks. Simon Yates takes over to pull the bunch. Michael Storer is on his wheel, followed by Sepp Kuss, Jonas Vingegaard, Tadej Pogacar and others.
O’Connor and Rubio aren’t looking back. The duo was 21 km away from the summit. Jorgenson and Lipowitz trailed by 1’10” and Visma-Lease a Bike bring the gap to the GC group down to 3’15”.
Jorgensen can’t stick with Lipowitz. The German rider is 1’40” behind the two leaders, who are 17.5 km away from the line. Meanwhile, O’Connor dropped Rubio to go solo.
Rubio now trailed O’Connor by 35″, with Lipowitz at 2’15”.
O’Connor continued to push his advantage. With 9km to go, he was riding solo with Rubio at 1’29” and Lipowitz now with the peloton at 3’20”.
As O’Connor hits some of the steepest ramps of the final climb, he has 5km to go. Rubio was now 1’45” behind the Australian leader of the race. The GC group of seven riders was at 3’15”. Narvaez, who was pulling the group, dropped back, and Lipowitz was off the rear as well.
Tobias Johannessen and Sepp Kuss were dropped, and Felix Gall was about to suffer the same fate. Yates tried to up the pace of the group.
3km to go and O’Connor looked to have enough of a lead to hold off the GC group and any chasers. Gall made it back to the group.
Jonas Vingegaard accelerated. Tadej Pogacar and Oscar Onley followed the Danish climber, but O’Connor had just a kilometer to go.
And it goes to O’Connor! Rubio had looked to have second place locked, but Pogacar attacked the GC group and blew right past the Spaniard to take second.
Stage 18 Brief Results:
Ben O’Connor (Jayco AlUla)
Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), +1’45”
Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike), +1’54”
Oscar Onley (Picnic PostNL), +1’58”
Einer Rubio (Movistar), +2’00”
General Classification After Stage 18:
Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) @ 66h 55’42”
Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) + 4’26”
Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) + 11’01”
Oscar Onley (Picnic – PostNL) @ 11’23”
Primoz Roglic (Red Bull Bora Hansgrohe) @ 12’49”
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