The 2022 Tour de France faces a final, crucial day in the mountains as Tadej Pogacar takes what is realistically one final swing at Jonas Vingegaard in an effort to knock the yellow jersey from his grasp.
Vingegaard has led the overall standings by more than two minutes since his sole stage win on stage 11 which saw Pogacar crack under immense pressure from the Dane’s Jumbo-Visma team. But Pogacar’s hard-earned win over Vingegaard at the finish of yesterday’s brutal stage 17 ride to Peyragudes landed a small psychological blog in his bid to become a three-time champion. With a flat sprint stage tomorrow and a closing time trial which offers only limited scope for earning back time before Sunday’s procession to Paris, Pogacar knows he must break Vingegaard’s resolve today.
Behind them Geraint Thomas is in pole position to pick up the remaining podium position, having picked his moments to follow the two standout riders and chosen wisely the right times to hold back and save his legs. Germany’s Simon Geschke remains in the polka dot jersey and is seeking to cement his title as King f the Mountains, while Wout van Aert only needs to make it to Paris to collect the points classification’s green jersey.
Follow all the latest action from stage 18 below.
