Unless the sprinters teams make a mistake, which would not be the first time in the final week of a Grand Tour. Especially when most sprinters are already home.
But let’s assume most fast men are still on board. After all, the 18th stage is not the last chance for fast men on the Tour, the sprint of sprints on the Champs-Élysées in Paris takes place in three days time.
Two KOM climbs appear in the first 105 kilometres – Chambéry-le-Haut and Côte de Boisseu -, so it’s still a long way out after the latter. A 2 kilometres climb at 3% to Revonnas could play a role in how the race unfolds, although that’s unlikely.
Philipsen is on fire this Tour. The man in green won all four bunch sprints until now.
Favourites 18th stage 2023 Tour de France
*** Jasper Philipsen, Dylan Groenewegen, Mads Pedersen
** Christophe Laporte, Biniam Girmay, Cees Bol, Bryan Coquard
* Alexander Kristoff, Sam Welsford, Luca Mozzato, Jordi Meeus
Another interesting read: route 18th stage 2023 Tour de France.
Tour de France 2023 stage 18: route, profiles, more
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Jakobsen and Ewan out of the race. Sprinters who could replace them in predictions for stage 18 and 21 are Welsford and Mozzato