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 More articles Tour de Romandie 2024: McNulty wins ITT, Ayuso new leader
Tour de Romandie 2024 Route stage 4: Saillon - Leysin
Tour de Romandie 2024 Route stage 3: Oron ITT
Tour de Romandie 2024: Riders
Tour de Romandie 2024 Route stage 5: Vernier - Vernier
Giro 2024: The Route
Giro 2024: Riders
Giro 2024 Route stage 1: Turin - Turin
Giro 2024 Favourites stage 1: Hilly race for pink
Giro 2024 Route stage 2: San Fransesco al Campo - Oropa
Giro 2024 Favourites stage 2: The King of Oropa
Giro 2024 Route stage 3: Novara - Fossano
Giro 2024 Favourites stage 3: For fast finishers #1
Giro 2024 Route stage 4: Acqui Terme - Andora
Giro 2024 Favourites stage 4: Mini Milan-Sanremo
Giro 2024 Route stage 5: Genoa - Lucca
Giro 2024 Favourites stage 5: For fast finishers #2
Giro 2024 Route stage 6: Viareggio - Rapolano Terme
Giro 2024 Route stage 8: Spoleto - Prati di Tivo
Giro 2024 Route stage 15: Manerba del Garda - Livigno
Giro 2024 Route stage 16: Livigno - Monte Pana
Giro 2024 Route stage 17: Selva di Val Gardena – Passo Brocon
Giro 2024 Route stage 19: Mortegliano - Sappada
Giro 2024 Route stage 20: Alpago – Bassano del Grappa
Cycling Calendar 2024
Liège–Bastogne–Liège Femmes 2024: Brown wins six-up sprint
Tour de France 2024: The Route
Tour de France 2024: Riders
Tour de France 2024 Route stage 1: Florence - Rimini
Vuelta 2024: The Route