And finally – here is Jeremy Whittle’s stage report from Bourg-en-Bresse:
That should be my lot for Tour de France blogging this year – thanks so much for reading, emailing in and tweeting. Enjoy the rest of it and see you next time.
Updated
William Fotheringham’s thoughts on tomorrow’s stage: another flattish one, but more breakaway friendly than today:
Stage 19, Friday 21 July: Moirans-en-Montagne-Poligny, 173km
Another flat stage, this time out of the Jura and into the Doubs. This should be another bunch sprint, but there’s a stiff little climb 26km out, which could well put the riders who are left in the sprinters’ teams seriously off their stride. So perhaps a reduced bunch sprint for a seasoned warhorse such as Mads Pedersen.
KOM classification: top five after stage 18
Ciccone 88
Gall 82
Vingegaard 81
Powless 58
Pogacar 49
General classification: top five after stage 18
Vingegaard 72hr 04min 39sec
Pogacar +7min 35sec
A Yates +10min 45sec
Rodríguez +12min 01sec
S Yates + 12min 19sec
Points classification: top five after stage 18
Philipsen 352
Pedersen 202
Coquard 188
Pogacar 146
Meeus 117
Why bother with breakaways on a flat stage?
Been asked many time why riders bother with breakaways on flat stage! Well this is why!! Congrats to the 4 brave riders up the road all day! They got a proper reward 👏💪
— nicholas roche (@nicholasroche) July 20, 2023
Perhaps slightly unnecessarily, one might argue, the official Tour de France website mentions that Jonas Vingegaard remains in the yellow jersey, following a day that had no impact on the GC.
If you missed the past couple of days, you may be interested to know that Vingegaard leads the GC by seven minutes and thirty-five seconds. Yes, you read that right.
“Tomorrow it will be even harder to have a sprint. The breakaway will be strong and probably go to the end,” says one of the Alpecin-Deceuninck sports directors, Christoph Roodhooft, on Eurosport.
He also said that he doesn’t think they made a misjudgement with the chase. But he compliments Asgreen and Campanaerts on a sterling effort up front. “They know themselves well,” he says. “And this is the result.”
It sure is.
Updated
That’s what makes bike racing so interesting: Four riders from different teams (three different teams in this case) form an alliance to try and set up a stage win, and then on the final straight, it’s every rider for themselves. That was so tense and exciting at the end …
The stage winner Asgreen speaks, with a constant grin on his face after such a satisfying day: “The situation [for the breakaway] was not ideal ... I’d have preferred to go with six, seven or eight,” he says.
“But it’s the last week of Tour, we’re coming off some really, really hard weeks ... we’ve seen it before, even a small group can manage to cheat the sprinter’s teams.
“It was a team time trial, I would say. I could not have done it with out Victor [Campanaerts], Pascal [Eenkhorn] and Jonas [Abrahamson]. They all did amazing out there. To be honest we all deserved the win, with the work we put in, but I’m really happy to come away with it.”
What does the win mean? “It means so much ... with the period I had since my crash in at Tour de Suisse, and having to leave the Tour de France last year ... I’ve come a long way, and to finish it with a victory like this ...
“I’d like to dedicate it to all the people have helped me, and also to Dries [Devenyns], it’s his last Tour. I’d like to dedicate it to him, to his wife,, and his family, and to all the people that helped me in the last year.”
Updated
Soudal Quick Step celebrate:
Kasper, you're a god!
— Soudal Quick-Step Pro Cycling Team (@soudalquickstep) July 20, 2023
Or at least Kratos, if you like if we go by this picture! Which is about the same thing!#TDF2023 #WayToRide
Photo: @GettySport pic.twitter.com/7w4BuqhP2i
Never write off a strong breakaway … much like Kwiatkowski’s stage win earlier in the race, today demonstrated that while you are out there in front, you have a chance.
Updated
Top five on stage 18
1. Kasper Asgreen
2. Pascal Eenkhorn
3. Jonas Abrahamsen
4. Jasper Philipsen
5. Mads Pedersen
A fascinating day in the end. Philipsen tried to stop Eenkhorn from bridging across to the breakaway … and ultimately, Eenkhorn’s presence was no doubt essential to the eventual success of what became a four-man escape group.
There is disbelief among the Eurosport pundits that the breakaway managed to hold off the chasing peloton. It certainly looked like Nils Politt, who put in a massive dig for Bora-Hansgrohe in the closing kilometres, was going to prove decisive in applying the catch.
Updated
They made it! The breakaway actually made it … an absolutely massive ride from Asgreen, who stood up and stamped on the pedals with about 250m to go on the final straight. The sprinters were bearing down on break, and were just a few metres away, but the Danish champion timed his final dig to perfection. Eenkhoorn was second.
That’s the first Tour de France stage win for the current Danish time trial champion, a previous winner of the Tour of Flanders.
A huge final effort from Campanaerts in the final kilometre also made a crucial difference.
Updated
Kasper Asgreen (Soudal Quick-Step) wins stage 18!
Wow!
A thrilling finale to what started off as a very uneventful day.
Updated
600m to go: Wow! I think they might make it!
1km to go: Just six seconds now! It’s a massive effort from the four men up front. Asgreen puts in another big turn in the break!
2.5km to go: Campanaerts wins the day’s combativity award for the “most aggressive rider”.
4km to go: The rest of the chasers are very, very happy that Politt is there and working. He’s single-handedly cut the gap to 9sec.
Updated
5km to go: Now Tim Declercq tries some blocking tactics for Soudal–Quick-Step… but Nils Politt (Bora-Hansgrohe) hits the front of the chasing bunch and suddenly the gap falls to 12sec.
Updated
7km to go: Lidl-Trek, Intermarché–Circus–Wanty and Alpecin-Deceuninck are the most prominent teams in the chase now. If the escape group didn’t have Asgreen, I don’t think I’d give them a hope here … but they definitely have a chance.
9km to go: The peloton has now rolled into the streets of Bourg-en-Bresse. They negotiate a sharp left-hander and then hit a long, straight, downhill stretch. The gap is 22sec.
11km to go: The co-ordination of the chase in the peloton appears to be faltering somewhat. However, as the road bends right and then left, the helicopter doesn’t have to zoom out too far from the four-man break to find the chasing peloton.
12km to go: The gap is 23sec. A reminder that the riders up front are Kasper Asgreen (Soudal–Quick-Step), Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X Pro Cycling Team) and Victor Campanaerts and Pascal Eenkhorn (Lotto Dstny).
Updated
14km to go: Now the gap falls to 23sec. The riders kick on desperately up at the front, trying to give themselves a chance of fighting for the stage win. But their days look numbered.
16km to go: The gap falls to 30sec. Bora-Hansgrohe lead the way on the front of the peloton, on the climb.
17km to go: Julian Alaphilippe (Soudal-QuickStep) is visible at the front. Kelly, on Eurosport, thinks he is there to try and disrupt the chase, in aid of his teammate Asgreen up front.
Eenkhorn’s mouth hangs open as he puts in a big effort on the front of the break. He is really grinding it out on a long uncategorised climb. Asgreen takes a drink and bite to eat.
18km to go: According to this photo caption, it was Dad’s Gendarmerie, not Dad’s Army, at the roadside:
Updated
20km to go: The gap is 51sec. Big, big ride from Asgreen, who leads the way up front. What an absolute machine.
Over on the Soudal-Quickstep Twitter, here’s a delightful helicopter shot from off the telly:
Another magnificent postcard from the #TDF2023! pic.twitter.com/F2oJxkoSmF
— Soudal Quick-Step Pro Cycling Team (@soudalquickstep) July 20, 2023
23km to go: The gap rises to 48sec. The wind is gusty and strong, says Blythe on Eurosport. The sheer effort is visible on the faces of the two Lotto Dstny riders in the break, Campanaerts and Eenkhorn. On the other hand, Asgreen just looks comfortable and barely out of breath, despite the terrifyingly large amount of power he is applying to those pedals.
25km to go: The gap between break and peloton has fallen to 40sec.
With Jasper Philipsen going for his fifth stage win, here is some history on the most stage wins in a single Tour, shamelessly lifted from the official Tour de France site:
“The record of stage wins in a single Tour de France is eight, held by Charles Pélissier (1930), Eddy Merckx (1970 and 1974) and Freddy Maertens (1976). Gino Bartali and Bernard Hinault scored seven, in 1948 and 1979 respectively. The number six has been reached nine times, by François Faber (1909), Marcel Buysse (1913), André Leducq (1932), Jean Aerts (1933), René Le Grevès (1936), Merckx (1969 and 1972), Luis Ocaña (1973) and Mark Cavendish (2009). On 22 occasions, a rider has won five stages in a single Tour de France.”
Updated
30km to go: “These guys are not hanging about,” says Adam Blythe on the Eurosport motorbike, now at the front of the race. “It’s not a given that these guys are going to be caught. They are working hard.”
31km to go: The four up front are riding a team time trial to the finish now. (Or certainly trying to.) Eenkhorn looks to be tiring, and drops to the back.
“Mate, you’ve just got here,” says McEwen on commentary, in character as one of Eenkhorn’s fellow escapees. “Give me a break.”
Updated
34km to go: Great efforts from the four riders up front. The gap is still over a minute. Currently 1min 02sec. Now, Lidl-Trek and Bora-Hansgrohe have taken it up at the front of the peloton.
“They’re thinking this might be a difficult one to close down,” says Kelly on Eurosport.
The average speed for the day has just ticked up to 44km/h, which shows you how significantly the pace has increased.
36km to go: “I believe the correct pronunciation is “Dysentery”” emails Bob, on Lotto-Dstny.
I suppose you could say they have trouble with their vowels, much like Mark Cavendish’s brand, cvndsh.
Updated
“I had a bet with myself,” Campanaerts said of that time trial gearing. Thanks to Mark for emailing the link to this interview with ITV.
“Nowadays we all ride with digital groupsets, and that’s nice,” said the former Hour Record holder. “But it wasn’t working … so I thought, can I do it in this massive gear?”
"Digital groupsets are nice, but sometimes they don't work" 😅⚙️
— ITV Cycling (@itvcycling) July 18, 2023
We noticed 🇧🇪Victor Campenaerts wasn't changing gear during the time trial 🤔
Daniel asked him why 🎤#TDF2023 #ITVCycling pic.twitter.com/XOWz3DQ6AO
41km to go: Alpecin-Deceuninck, Jayco-AlUla and Team DSM are massed at the front of the bunch, although the bunch is noticeably strung out now. The pace is hotter than it was, and this is a real race now, as opposed to the slightly strange game of cat-and-mouse we had earlier. The enlarged break of four riders now has 1min 09sec and the sprinters’ teams don’t want to give them too much rope …
42km to go: How does one pronounce the Dstny in Lotto-Dstny? I’d go “Destiny”, but it seems that the excellent Sean Kelly is going for “Dynasty”.
Updated
43km to go: On commentary, Robbie McEwen thinks the wind will be a factor in the final. He says it’s a crosswind blowing between 20 and 25km/h.
45km to go: “I am starting to warm to the eccentricity of Campenaerts.” emails Claus. “I was watching him during Tuesday’s time trial, labouring uphill in an insanely high gear and spinning like a hamster on the flat. The commentators were wondering if he had made a bet to complete the whole time trial just in one gear. Is there anything to confirm that?”
I saw that, and heard the commentators wondering why, but didn’t hear any confirmation of the reason. Did anyone see Campenaerts asked about this? Email me!
47km to go: The script is obviously written for a bunch sprint … the leading four riders have just over a minute on the chasing pack at the moment.
They look to have no hope, but then again, no one gave Michal Kwiatkowski, or anyone else in that breakaway, a chance of staying away on Grand Colombier:
Abrahamson wins the intermediate sprint at Saint-Rambert-en-Bugey
Pascal Eenkhorn, the cheeky little rascal, sprints for the intermediate having just got in the break. But Abrahamson, impressively, has the legs to hold him off. Sean Kelly says they’re just after the prize money.
Behind, the pack rolls through the sprint point without contesting it. Philipsen rolls through first, and picks up 11pts.
Intermediate sprint result
Abrahamsen 20pts
Eenkhorn 17pts
Campanaerts 15pts
Asgreen 13pts
Philipsen 11pts
Updated
52km to go: That said, will an uphill kick to the finish line suit a bigger rider such as Pedersen?
53km to go: Philipsen has five top 10s (and of course four wins) at the Tour. Pedersen has four top 10s and one win.
Both @JasperPhilipsen & @Mads__Pedersen have achieved historic performances with their stage wins in #TDF2023
— letourdata (@letourdata) July 20, 2023
Will one of them power to another victory in Bourg-en-Bresse?#TDFdata #TDF2023 pic.twitter.com/HYDNhhSQkI
All things being equal, those two will be duking it out for the win today.
55km to go: The average speed for the day is 42.9km/h, which is fairly slow for a flattish day.
57km to go: Campanaerts, of course, is the guy who once asked someone out via a message written on his chest. It probably wasn’t the most alluring offer.
Belgian rider Victor Campenaerts uses Tuesday's time trial as a chance to ask mystery girl Carlien out on a date... #Giro100 pic.twitter.com/t1Fza0Nr9b
— Eurosport (@eurosport) May 16, 2017
58km to go: The pace has noticeably picked up. Having gone back to pick up his teammate, Campanaerts then comes charging past the two up front, and they can’t keep pace with him.
59km to go: Campanaerts has now sat up to wait for Eenkhorn. So Abrahamsen and Asgreen are up front on their own.
The gap between the front of the race and the peloton is 48sec. The gap between break and the two Lotto-Dstny chasers is just 6sec.
60km to go: Matt Winston, who is on the staff at Team DSM, with a funny Ashes-related quote from John Degenkolb (a German):
QOTD “there is so much cricket chat on this bus between the brit’s & aussies i now get cricket adverts in my feed” @johndegenkolb 🇩🇪 whose sitting drinking his Yorkshire tea…with Milk
— Matt Winston (@Mattw1nston) July 20, 2023
63km to go: Pascal Eenkhorn (Lotto-Dstny) has now been released to make it across to the three-man breakaway. He is 11sec behind the group up front.
A reminder that the three riders up front are: Kasper Asgreen (Soudal–Quick-Step), Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X Pro Team) and Victor Campanaerts (Lotto–Dstny).
67km to go: Mindless Ciccone “humour” from back in 2019.
"Nice jacket. Looks like mine."
— Luke McLaughlin (@LukeMcLaughlin) May 15, 2019
"What make's yours?"
"Armani. And yours?"
"Giulio Ciccone." #Giro102 pic.twitter.com/0Tms4iRUf3
Just the 25sec for the break now … this is coming back together soon, isn’t it?
Updated
68km to go: The gap is now hovering at around 32sec. We just had a shot of Giulo Ciccone in his all polka-dot outfit. Daring.
70km to go: We may still have a box-office finale to the stage after a slow start. And the gap is falling even more, now down to 36sec. And now 32sec.
“I didn’t like it one little bit,” says Kirby on Eurosport of Philipsen’s behaviour in shutting down Eenkhorn. “The more I think about it, the more upset I’m getting.”
71km to go: Here’s a screenshot of Philipsen shutting the door on Eenkhorn.
Jasper Philipsen bullying Eenkhoorn who tries to attack, not very nice. #TDF2023 pic.twitter.com/l9T3MWxhnu
— Mihai Simion (@faustocoppi60) July 20, 2023
The gap is 42sec. Surely we are going to get more attempts to bridge?
Updated
73km to go: It seems that discussions are ongoing between Philipsen, Lotto-Dstny and others. Over on Elon Musk’s Twitter, Philipsen is taking some flak for what did look like straightforward bullying (and potentially dangerous riding too if he physically tried to block Eenkhorn).
75km to go: Victor Lafay, also of Cofidis, is off the back.
76km to go: Simon Geschke, of Cofidis, has been dropped. He said yesterday was his hardest ever day on a bike … and today is looking miserable, too.
79km to go: The gloves are coming off. Not literally. But riders are trying to get across to the three-man break. It appeared that Jasper Philipsen just went and tried to stop someone from trying to bridge, because he (Philipsen) wants a sprint. It was Pascal Eenkhoorn who burst out of the bunch, apparently trying to bridge.
“It’s a bullying tactic there, it doesn’t sit well,” says Daryl Impey on commentary for Eurosport. “This is the new mentality of the peloton that is coming through.”
I’m not sure it’s new for the more senior riders to try and control things? Surely that’s a relic of cycling’s past, more than anything.
Updated
79km to go: “I agree with you that stages like the one today have their place in the tour,” emails Michael from Calgary, Alberta, Canada. “As Sir Paul once sang about Silly Love Songs, what’s wrong with that, I’d like to know.
“One thing I wish was an annual requirement is the team time trial in addition to the individual ... and preferably including at least one significant climb and descent.”
80km to go: Lotto-Density suddenly take it up at the front, on the climb. They are trying to bring this back, and spice up the second half of the stage. The gap falls to 37sec.
(I know, it’s Lotto-Dstny, not Lotto-Density.)
82km to go: The gap is falling! The break is on the second climb of the route, a cat-four at Côte de Boissieu. The gap is down to 43sec. Maybe it will go out again after the climb? We shall see.
A road sign pointing to Turin! I was there in March. Underrated city. Try the farinata.
The Lac du Bourget.
Updated
86km to go: Steve Cummings, in the Ineos Grenadiers car, has just given Adam Blythe, on the Eurosport motorbike, an ice cream. The gap 54sec.
Here’s a Cummings Tour de France win from the archive:
87km to go: Impey has some interesting thoughts on Thomas de Gendt, the Belgian breakaway specialist. He says riders in the peloton wondered how he always managed to stay away in breakaways, but that things changed when he revealed his secrets. He doesn’t actually explain what those secrets were …
The gap continues to hover at around 1min.
88km to go: These stages are all part of the Tour de France’s rich tapestry, if you ask me. They simply can’t be flat-out all day, every day. From a British perspective, there would be a lot more intrigue if Mark Cavendish was still in the game, and he was still aiming for the record.
89km to go: The gap between today’s three-man break and peloton is 58sec.
91km to go: Carlton Kirby has had his lunch, and is back on the Eurosport microphone. Daryl Impey reminisces on his two days in the yellow jersey, 10 years ago: “To be able to have done that in my career, it’s amazing,” he says. “Every time I’ve gone back to the Tour, I thought, how was I able to do that? I didn’t sleep in the jersey, but I definitely had it close to my bed.”
Daryl Impey, nouveau maillot jaune ! #TDF pic.twitter.com/iFjBuNzQHw
— Tour de France™ (@LeTour) July 4, 2013
93km to go: Nothing is happening. Well, not in terms of the race situation. And that suits so many riders and teams just fine. The finish today will be flat-out, and no doubt it’ll be exciting, but for now it is all the same. The three-man break continues to work up front. Asgreen has a drink. Abrahamsen takes a bottle from his team car, that pulls up alongside.
Actually, the gap falls to 52sec.
96km to go: I was going to mention earlier that there are clearly issues with the current anti-doping regime. While I should stress that this is not intended as a reflection on any particular rider or team, here is James, on email, with some of the ongoing concerns:
“Some of the issues with the bio passport are as follows.
“Do they take measurements often enough? I mean, do they send sample collecters to a remote hotel on Mount Teide in Tenerife? And if they do, would the riders be warned in advance by ‘spotters’ at the airport and could they mask the skewed values in some way? Let’s also not forget that riders can miss two surprise tests without facing sanction.
“Why were some athletes that we now know were doping not flagged by the Biopassport? (In a similar vein (ha!) to plenty of riders that we know were doped to the gills never failing a ‘traditional’ test.
“Why were some riders reinstated after appeals by their national federations to the UCI / WADA, despite the latter being satisfied of their guilt?
“How faithfully is this enforced? I mean, the independent expert that the UCI used to assess profiles resigned in protest when the UCI refused to sanction ‘a certain Texan’ for suspicious values. Can we be confident they would take action if a lucrative star rider had strange values? The sport has never been more vulnerable to scandal. A top rider testing positive now would do incredible damage to what has become a global industry worth billions.
“How well does it work for riders who might have illnesses of use medications that affect their blood measurements? Are there riders who are effectively impossible to monitor?”
Updated
Coffee-clutching, bleary-eyed Australian sports fans are embracing the immortal words of Jon Bon Jovi this month: “You can sleep when you’re dead.”
That’s because July is delivering an RSL-sized smörgåsbord of northern hemisphere sport. While the Women’s World Cup may be time zone-friendly for Australians for the first time ever, there’s still men’s and women’s cricket, including the remaining Ashes series; the Open Championship in the United Kingdom and Tour de France and Le Tour Femmes in western Europe; and Formula One, where Australian Daniel Ricciardo is back behind the wheel. And it’s all happening past most people’s bed times, prompting many to choose between sleep and sporting stimulation.
101km to go: Asgreen is the Denmark’s current individual time trial champion. FACT.
He won it last month, in Aalborg. Do we have any readers in Aalborg? Get in touch by email or Twitter
Meanwhile, here are Lotto Dstny, celebrating having a rider in the break. “Who else,” indeed.
🇫🇷 #TDF2023
— Lotto Dstny (@lotto_dstny) July 20, 2023
Who else? 🤪
Breakaway day for @VCampenaerts on stage 18 of @LeTour, he is joined by Asgreen and Abrahamsen.pic.twitter.com/1v5b3dKFUl
Updated
105km to go: Notably, the temperature stated on the Tour de France website for the front of the race is 29.9C. Unusual to see something that’s not in the 30s, these days.
(Of course, as you know, the actual temperature on the road will be more than that.)
107km: I told you Moeen Ali was good enough to bat at No 3 for England, didn’t I?*
*I didn’t
108km to go: Alpecin-Deceuninck lead the way at the front of the peloton. The gap, still, refuses to budge from around one minute.
111km to go: I should have told you that Abrahamsen “won” the categorised climb at Côte de Chambéry-le-Haut. Not that it really matters.
🔥First place at the Côte de Chambéry-le-Haut for @abrajonas
— Tour de France™ (@LeTour) July 20, 2023
🔥Première place à la Côte de Chambéry-le-Haut pour @abrajonas #TDF2023 pic.twitter.com/oHOJPziSDy
113km to go: Not an awful lot happening, in truth. The gap is just over a minute. The three breakaway riders – Kasper Asgreen (Soudal–Quick-Step), Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X Pro Cycling Team) and Victor Campanaerts (Lotto–Dstny) – continue to work hard up front.
There are some lovely TV pictures from the helicopter. Which is something.
118km to go: “I heard a take the other day that if riders were doping, it would happen months ago during training,” emails Tyler. “No longer are the days of blood bags in team cars. So makes you wonder whether the testing after races is just a mild inconvenience to the dehydrated riders after races.”
Sure, but that in theory is where the blood passport comes in. Tracking an athlete’s blood values consistently over a long period of time, rather than just at races, should show if there has been anything untoward away from competition. But again, that is in theory.
The scandal surrounding a certain British team showed that up until relatively recently, injecting Kenacort (Triamcinolone) out of competition was permitted under anti-doping regulations. Which was madness, in hindsight, considering its potency as a performance enhancer.
Updated
119km to go: Mathieu Van der Poel had a chat with Eurosport before the stage: “I think for us it’s difficult to predict … our biggest chance is to win today with Jasper. Tomorrow will be even more for a breakaway … but I hope the guys [peloton] will feel the stage from yesterday. We will see.
“He [Philipsen] is tired as well. But everybody is. I was really suffering yesterday on the last climb … but he’s a typical sprinter. He’ll feel good again towards the end [of the stage].”
Updated
122km to go: Daryl Impey, a former yellow jersey wearer, is guesting on commentary for Eurosport and he says there are plenty in the peloton are desperate for an easy (or easier) day and that is determining the shape of the race. Hard to argue.
“Everybody in this peloton is thinking about Paris,” he adds.
123km to go: Some welcome shade for the riders on this first climb. A tree-lined road winds its way up the Côte de Chambéry-le-Haut.
125km to go: “Like all cycling fans I have been digesting the past two stages,” emails Barry. “The domination of Jonas Vingegaard was so complete it has thrown up suspicions. Looking at the comments on the Guardian and elsewhere shows people wondering the same thing … Unfortunately the past scandals mean whoever is in yellow gets this, of course …
“So I guess my question is – will cycling ever get away from its dodgy past?”
I think the answer is no, it will never completely escape the past – but an amount of scepticism is surely both healthy and understandable in view of the history. Vingegaard is being tested left, right and centre and clearly there is no problem there. The cynicism is a shame, in one sense, but I would be more worried if no one was asking the question.
Updated
127km to go: The gap is down to exactly one minute, yet again.
128km to go: The first categorised climb of the day, at Côte de Chambéry-le-Haut, is coming up after another 6km of racing.
Jonas Vingegaard had a chat with Eurosport before the stage start and is asked if this is the form of his life: “I would say I’ve never been better in my life. Obviously, I’m super-happy about it.”
Of his preparation, he says: “It all starts in the early months … there you have to be … don’t have weeks when you cannot train. I had a really good winter. No injuries or sickness. You come to the first altitude camp in May, already in good shape, then you start building towards the Tour.”
And finally a word for Tadej Pogacar: “I have a lot of respect for Tadej … in my opinion he’s the best rider in the world … I only have good things to say about Tadej, he’s a really nice person as well.”
133km to go: Just looking at the “final”, as cycling people call it. When the race hits Bourg-en-Bresse and approached the finish, there is a sharp left-hander, then a sweeping right-hander, and there is a little uphill kick to the finish.
135km to go: The gap is 1min 11sec.
Here’s a screenshot of the gentlemen at roadside, thanks to a screenshot by Felix Lowe on Twitter:
French Dad's Army?
— Felix Lowe (@saddleblaze) July 20, 2023
Or... the unselected members of Israel-PremierTech cheering on their team-mates in the #TDF2023? pic.twitter.com/JWf4FST4Jy
Updated
138km to go: Team DSM, Alpecin-Deceuninck and Jayco-AlUla are the teams visible at the front of the race, working to control the gap to the break.
I think it’s entirely possible that we see this race come back together sooner than expected.
On Eurosport, we hear one of the Ineos Grenadiers sports directors on the radio, reminding their riders to keep hydrated, because it’s hot. Not exactly fascinating insight, it must be said, but in fairness the team radio idea is in credit after yesterday and the Pogacar drama.
140km to go: The gap is holding at around a minute. As I type, it’s 1min 06sec.
At the Women’s World Cup, hosts Australia have just beaten Ireland 1-0:
Elsewhere, England are trying to Bazball the hell out of Australia at Old Trafford:
Golf is occurring on the first day of the Open at Royal Liverpool:
County cricket is occurring at various locations around the UK:
Updated
147km to go: Jonas Vingegaard, who leads the overall race by seven and a half minutes, has a chat with his compatriot, Mads Pedersen.
Pedersen won stage eight, thanks to a fantastically powerful, long sprint finish, that was overshadowed by Mark Cavendish’s traumatic exit from the race:
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149km to go: Indeed, it looks like the breakaway riders are taking it relatively easy up front, knowing that the peloton have no interest in catching them.
Dan Lloyd, one of the Eurosport commentators, describes Asgreen and Campanaerts as “absolute machines”, in terms of their power, which is right.
150km to go: William Fotheringham, in our pre-race preview, wrote this of today’s stage, which is spot on:
“A long flat run out of the Alps offers respite after the mountains. On paper this is a bunch sprint, but that depends on which sprinters have survived and what state their teammates are in. Last year the Belgian Jasper Philipsen was the pick of the sprinters in the second half of the Tour; if he and his teammate Van der Poel are in form, look no further.”
(I always find it interesting to read the pre-race previews in the final week … often interesting historical documents.)
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152km to go: What appears to be a real-life French Dad’s Army is pictured at the roadside applauding the riders past.
“I’m not sure how active they are … but we salute them anyway,” quips Kirby.
The gap is exactly 1min.
154km to go: The average speed thus far today is 44.5 km/h, which is obviously crazily fast for mere mortals, but comfortable for these highly trained athletes riding in a bunch.
The three breakaway riders – Kasper Asgreen (Soudal–Quick-Step), Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X Pro Cycling Team) and Victor Campanaerts (Lotto–Dstny) – will obviously be toiling a lot harder than the riders back in the bunch.
Again, it’s worth remembering how fiendishly hard yesterday’s stage was, if anyone is disappointed at the lack of action so far today. It’s hardly surprising that we are seeing a ceasefire, for want of a better word.
158km to go: Maybe the riders up front have eased up a bit, secretly hoping the peloton will catch them? I don’t know, but we have to find a bit of intrigue from somewhere.
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159km to go: Now, Eurosport’s Kirby reckons that Adam Blythe has “ironed his sunglasses overnight. I’ve never seen such flat lenses.
“This is going to take quite a while,” Kirby adds, for the 100 or so miles that now lie ahead.
159km to go: Jasper Philipsen has dropped back to the team cars. He’s having a drink, resplendent in green jersey, and riding a green bike.
💚 Eyes on @Bourg_en_Bresse and a 5th stage win?
— Tour de France™ (@LeTour) July 20, 2023
💚 Les yeux rivés vers @Bourg_en_Bresse et une 5ème victoire d'étape ?#TDF2023 pic.twitter.com/YFzQZuNjmY
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161km to go: Interestingly, the gap between breakaway and peloton has fallen to around a minute. You would have thought these three riders would be given a bit more rope, given the length of the stage. Mind you, at the back of the peloton, it’s all looking very relaxed. There is little or no motivation to do anything other than let those three brave lads up front do most of the work.
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Richard Plugge, one of the Jumbo-Visma team managers, talks to Eurosport about Wout van Aert’s departure: “We said when the moment is there, when the doctors says now is the moment, we have to make the decision [for Van Aert] to leave.
“For us it’s normal. It’s really important to be with your family, with your wife, with your kid … he’s a family man, we are a family, I have kids myself … you want to be in the most important moments in life with your family. We agreed on it without any discussion.
“He tried for a stage victory [earlier in the race]. Unfortunately it didn’t work out. He’s a great team player. Yesterday was the biggest goal for us in this Tour de France, and he waited for that moment … that shows what a big guy he is, what a guy for the team, how strong he is.”
Can he, Plugge, taste overall victory in this Tour? “I’ll be really happy in Paris on Sunday. Yesterday was a good step. Today is another day … we have to be sharp from the start.”
165km to go: On commentary, Carlton Kirby has been reduced to remembering a pizzeria that he once ate at with Sean Kelly.
167km to go: The gap has fallen slightly to 1min 16sec.
What or where is Malopolska, where Abrahamsen won that stage? Let Wiki explain:
“Lesser Poland, often known by its Polish name Małopolska, is a historical region situated in southern and south-eastern Poland. Its capital and largest city is Kraków. Throughout centuries, Lesser Poland developed a separate culture featuring diverse architecture, folk costumes, dances, cuisine, traditions and a rare Lesser Polish dialect. The region is rich in historical landmarks, monuments, castles, natural scenery and UNESCO World Heritage Sites.”
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168km to go: The top result showing on Jonas Abrahamsen’s page on ProCyclingStats is a stage win at the Tour of Malopolska in 2020. But hey, a win is a win, yeah?
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172km to go: The gap between break and peloton is hovering, pretty steadily, at around 1min 30sec.
174km to go: Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin–Deceuninck) is pictured riding along having a bite to eat. Couldn’t he have had something on the bus?
Meanwhile, breakaway rider Victor Campanaerts has also scored some big wins in his time. He won a Giro stage in 2021:
He also broke the Hour Record in 2019:
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175km to go: I won the Tour of Flanders in 2019, at least in the sense that I completed the full-length sportive, which was about 215km. Anyone else out there done it?
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177km to go: Asgreen, as you know, is a powerhouse of a rider and has won some big one-day races. Namely the Tour of Flanders (2021), E3 Harelbeke (2021) and Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne (2020)
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178km to go: All three riders in this break are over three hours behind the race leader, Jonas Vingegaard, in the general classification. So there is no question of them being a threat …
180km to go: Carlton Kirby, on Eurosport commentary, suggests that some riders who were told to get in the break have missed it accidentally-on-purpose. No doubt there is some truth in that.
181km to go: The three-man breakaway has 43sec. That appears to be that. It’s hardly surprising that after one of the hardest climbing stages in years, much of the peloton would like an easy day. There was definitely some road-blocking going on a couple of minutes ago when these three got away …
183km to go: Kasper Asgreen (Soudal–Quick-Step), Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X Pro Cycling Team) and Victor Campanaerts (Lotto–Dstny) are up front. They have a lead of 18sec and the peloton behind looks happy to let them go.
Most of them, anyway … as Sean Kelly says on commentary, a three-man break is perfect for the sprinters’ teams, as it’s so much easier to control than a larger group. Asgreen and Campanaerts are very powerful though, having said that.
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And they're off! We're racing on stage 18
Boom. Attacks from the start, as expected.
“With the yellow jersey practically sealed for Vingegaard, Pog’s only hope to win it back would be if Vingegaard had to withdraw,” emails Ben. “Has a team ever gone full Dick Dastardly and tried to force a rider to crash out? Not quite the same, but a few years back I seem to remember Movistar putting the hammer down after a crash in the peloton which was met with justifiable condemnation.”
Just 1km to go now in the neutralised start. The peloton is massed behind the race director’s car. Van de Poel is visible up front, plus Ciccone in his polka-dot outfit.
Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin–Deceuninck), of course, is another rider who may put his hand up for a sprint win today.
“I’ll be keeping my eye out,” Fred Wright (Bahrain Victorious) tells Eurosport of a possible breakaway. “You never know … I’m hoping there will be lots of people who don’t want it to be a sprint. You kind of know in the “neutral” what the situation is. On stage 12, that was one of the most tense “neutrals” I’ve ever been in.”
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Jeremy Whittle reports from France on the scepticism swirling around Jonas Vingegaard’s dominance, both in the time trial and yesterday’s Queen stage:
“The knives are out, or at least unsheathed, for Jonas Vingegaard at the Tour de France, but then it doesn’t take much to trigger scepticism towards the wearer of the yellow jersey.
It is always there, simmering away, even though 25 years have passed since the crippling Festina affair of 1998, and it is more than a decade since Lance Armstrong confessed his doping sins to Oprah Winfrey.
Now Vingegaard, like so many before him, is having to recite the same mantra: trust me, I work hard, I sacrifice so much; believe me, I am not taking anything.”
I’m not sure how long this neutralised section is in total, but the graphic on screen just said they still have 7km to ride before the official start.
Jasper Philipsen is well ahead in the points classification: He leads with 323 points, Mads Pedersen is second with 186 points. There are 20 points on offer for winning the intermediate sprint, at Saint-Rambert-en-Bugey, and 50 for the stage winner.
“We’ve seen the final, so we know what to expect,” Jasper Philipsen tells Eurosport. He’s aiming for a fifth stage win this afternoon.
Does he have any weaknesses in a sprint? “We’ll see. Everything can happen in a bunch sprint.”
Bryan Coquard, Danny van Poppel, Alexander Kristoff, Luka Mezgec and Mads Pedersen are among the fast men remaining – along with Jasper Philipsen, of course – following yesterday’s insanely hard stage that featured over 5,000m of climbing.
A bit of politics now, from Antony on email:
“Bonjour. Labour is imminent, Let’s hope so Wout, let’s hope so. Get a good indication later tonight.”
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The official page for abandonments, stage-by-stage, can be found here.
Phil Bauhaus packed it in yesterday, Caleb Ewan is gone, so is Fabio Jakobsen, and of course Mark Cavendish.
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Top five in GC before stage 18:
Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) 68hr 05min 26sec
Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) +7min 35sec
Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates) +10min 45sec
Carlos Rodríguez (Ineos) +12min 01sec
Simon Yates (Jayco-AlUla) +12min 19sec
This is cool. Ben O’Connor congratulating his teammate, Felix Gall, on his victory in the ‘Queen’ stage of the Tour de France yesterday.
“You’re a champion!”
Can’t beat a bit of true team spirit, can you? The full interview is well worth a watch, wherever you usually get your Tour de France interviews.
"You're a champion, mate! Enjoy it!" 🤗
— Eurosport (@eurosport) July 19, 2023
Ben O'Connor couldn't hold back from interrupting team-mate Felix Gall's post-stage win interview 😍@ben_oconnor95 | @AG2RCITROENTEAM | #TdF2023 pic.twitter.com/ELzjJi9eCg
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There are two category-four climbs on today’s route. The question is, will it be a textbook day for a game but ultimately doomed breakaway to be reeled in by the sprinters’ teams, or will we see something far more chaotic and exciting? There are plenty of tired legs in the peloton and no doubt many riders will fancy a “day off”. But this is the Tour de France, right?
“Labour is imminent,” Van Aert explains in this video on social media released by Jumbo-Visma. Van Aert’s wife, Sarah, is due to give birth to their second child.
Reflecting on the race, Van Aert said: “I started the Tour hoping to make it to Paris. I often had the legs to win the stage, but it didn’t happen.”
🇫🇷 #TDF2023 @WoutvanAert has left the Tour de France to be with his wife Sarah who will give birth to their second child soon. More in the interview recorded yesterday morning. 🎥 pic.twitter.com/WWA7uoCVz4
— Team Jumbo-Visma cycling (@JumboVismaRoad) July 20, 2023
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Jumbo-Visma's Van Aert leaves race
The Jumbo-Visma rider Wout van Aert has left the Tour de France to be with his wife Sarah, who is set to give birth to their second child, the team said on Thursday.
The Belgian’s absence is not expected to impact teammate and race leader Jonas Vingegaard, who is on course for a second consecutive title after his rival Tadej Pogacar lost time following a crash in Wednesday’s stage 17.
“In consultation with the team, we have decided that my place is now at home,” he said, adding that the family’s doctor had informed him his wife was expected to go into labour soon. I always thought that I would go home when my wife indicated that she needed me. That time has come.” (Reuters)
Preamble
“I’m gone. I’m dead.”
Four words already committed to Tour de France legend. Speaking on the team radio yesterday, Tadej Pogacar conceded defeat in his battle with Jonas Vingegaard, cracking on the Col de la Loze on Stage 17 a day after his rival’s spectacular victory in the race’s solitary time trial.
The Slovenian’s GC hopes do indeed look buried: just 48 hours ago the expectation had been for one of the closest-ever Tours de France but after two devastating days in the Alps, the Dane now leads the overall race by a mammoth 7min 35sec. Thankfully it is not, of course, as final as death for Pogacar and UAE Team Emirates: he can always come back next year and have another go, and indeed try for a stage win before the end of this race.
Today’s long trip from Moûtiers to Bourg-en-Bresse, meanwhile, brings to mind the ghost of Mark Cavendish: long since departed from this race with a broken collarbone having come tantalisingly close to breaking Eddy Merckx’s 34 career stage victories in the Tour. All things being equal Jasper Philipsen will make it five wins at this race later today: perhaps Cavendish will be watching and wondering whether to take the option of another year with Astana-Qazaqstan, and another crack at that record. For the sprinters remaining yet to record a win – that is, all of them bar Mads Pedersen – it is a precious chance to justify their selection for the world’s biggest bike race.
Neutralised start time: 12.05 UK / 13.05 CET
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