The previous edition of La Grande Boucle visited Pau with a Marcel Kittel showdown. Dylan Groenewegen and Edvald Boasson Hagen finished in second and third.
The 18th stage amounts to 171 kilometres and when the sprint teams don’t give the breakaway too much leash it should come down to a clash of fast men again. Côte d’Anos is the last climb of the day. The 2.1 kilometres with its 4.6% slope is crested with 18.5 kilometres remaining, so that should not be a problem. The finale is as flat as can be.
Following the onslaught in the Alps the fastest sprinters on the Tour de France are already home. Fernando Gaviria and Dylan Groenewegen both powered to two wins, while Marcel Kittel, André Greipel and Mark Cavendish also abandoned. Since then there has been one bunch sprint with Peter Sagan pipping Alexander Kristoff and Arnaud Démare. Moreover, the World Champion did win two other stages on this Tour de France, so normally he would be favourite to pocket this one, too. Yet, he crashed hard on the descent of the Col de Val Louron-Azet in the 17th stage and required medical attention.
Favourites 18th stage 2018 Tour de France
*** Arnaud Démare, Alexander Kristoff
** Peter Sagan, Magnus Cort, John Degenkolb, Edvald Boasson Hagen
* Sonny Cobrelli, Andrea Pasqualon, Christophe Laporte, Timothy Dupont
Read also: route 18th stage 2018 Tour de France.
Tour de France 2018 stage 18: Route maps, height profiles, and more
Click on the images to zoom
Related articles Riders - Tour de France 20 Withdrawals - Tour de France 20 Favourites - Tour de France 20 GC Favourites - Tour de France 20 Fantasy Tour de France: at least 31,000 euro in prizes!More articles Tour de France 2021: The Route
Tour de France 2021: Riders
Tour of Flanders 2021: Riders
Tour de France 2021 Route stage 1: Brest - Landerneau
Tour de France 2021 Favourites stage 1: Alaphilippe for first maillot jaune
Tour de France 2021 Route stage 2: Perros-Guirec - Mûr-de-Bretagne
Tour de France 2021 Favourites stage 2: Punchers at Mûr-de-Bretagne
Tour de France 2021 Route stage 3: Lorient - Pontivy
Tour de France 2021 Favourites stage 3: Fast finishers showdown #1
Tour de France 2021 Route stage 4: Redon - Fougères
Tour de France 2021 Route stage 5: Changé - Laval
Tour de France 2021 Route stage 6: Tours - Châteauroux
Tour de France 2021 Route stage 7: Vierzon - Le Creusot
Tour de France 2021 Route stage 8: Oyonnax - Le-Grand-Bornand
Tour de France 2021 Route stage 9: Cluses - Tignes
Tour de France 2021 Route stage 10: Albertville - Valence
Tour de France 2021 Route stage 11: Sorgues - Malaucène
Tour de France 2021 Route stage 12: Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux - Nîmes
Tour de France 2021 Route stage 13: Nîmes - Carcassonne
Tour de France 2021 Route stage 14: Carcassonne - Quillan
Tour de France 2021 Route stage 15: Céret - Andorra la Vella
Tour de France 2021 Route stage 16: Pas de la Case - Saint-Gaudens
Tour de France 2021 Route stage 17: Muret - Col du Portet
Tour de France 2021 Route stage 18: Pau - Luz-Ardiden
Tour de France 2021 Route stage 19: Mourenx - Libourne
Tour de France 2021 Route stage 20: Libourne - Saint-Emilion
Tour de France 2021 Route stage 21: Chatou - Paris
Cycling Calendar 2021
Volta a Catalunya 2021: The Route
Volta a Catalunya 2021: Riders
Giro 2021: Riders
Milan - San Remo 2021: Riders
Strade Bianche 2021: Riders
UAE Tour 2021: Riders