Tour de France 2018 Favourites stage 18: Back to the fast men

The 18th stage of the Tour de France takes place on undulating terrain. Although the Pyrenees are in the background the fast men do not have to fear they actually have to enter the mountains. The flat finish is in Pau. (Slideshow route/profile)

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