Courchevel — Ben O’Connor stormed to a sensational victory in Stage 18 of the Tour de France on Thursday as Jonas Vingegaard’s attempt to dethrone Tadej Pogacar imploded in spectacular fashion on the race’s most brutal Alpine battleground.
The Australian rider, eyes blazing with determination, launched a ferocious solo attack on the fearsome Col de la Loze and never looked back, thundering towards his second career Tour stage win after his triumph in Tignes in 2021.
“I felt much better today just from the start. I was pretty active, and I think probably the point where you realise you could have a shot was the top of the [Col de la] Madeleine when Jonas and Pogi came across, and we’re still with them over the top of the summit,” O’Connor said.
Pogacar defended his crown with ice-cold precision, gaining 11 more seconds on Vingegaard and stretching his overall advantage to a commanding 4 min 26 sec after taking second place.
“Today was brutal. Maybe the hardest stage I’ve ever done in the Tour,” a drained Vingegaard said after the finish.
“We had a big plan, you saw it, but I couldn’t take a second on Tadej. The Tour isn’t over, still.”
Visma-Lease a Bike had come to the Alps with an all-in strategy for a stage lined with three monstrous climbs. But what could have been a bold masterstroke unravelled spectacularly.
On the slopes of the 19.2km Col de la Madeleine, Sepp Kuss’s searing acceleration left the top contenders chasing shadows.
Puzzling twist
With Matteo Jorgenson already up the road in a breakaway, Vingegaard launched his move 5km from the summit, but Pogacar followed him with ease.
Then came the puzzling twist. After a blistering descent, Vingegaard, who had said he was ready to risk his second place to try to win the Tour, suddenly eased up on the valley floor, inviting rivals to regroup and stripping his team’s earlier aggression of any sting.
Jorgenson, once the sacrificial pawn, dropped from the break and rejoined the group, only to be spat out again almost instantly.
Up ahead, O’Connor sensed blood and struck with ruthless precision, leaving Einer Rubio gasping for air and balance with a savage attack 16km from the line on the lung-busting 26.4km Col de la Loze, soaring to 2,304m above sea level.
Rubio cracked in his wake, and the general classification favourite’s hesitation sealed the Australian’s day of glory.
Behind him, Visma-Lease a Bike flogged the pace but barely clawed back a second. Then, inside the final 2km, Vingegaard made one last desperate thrust. Pogacar, seated and serene, absorbed it before unleashing a devastating counterpunch in the last 500m.
In a blur of power, the Slovenian dropped Vingegaard, streaked past Rubio, and snatched a 6 sec bonus as he continued his march towards a fourth Tour title.
German Florian Lipowitz retained third place despite finishing behind Oscar Onley after his attempt to go solo in the final climb backfired.
He still leads the British rider by 22 sec going into the last mountain stage between Albertville and La Plagne.
Reuters
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