11:41 AM
Here’s the top 10 GC heading into today’s stage
11:38 AM
Today’s stage – Mourenx to Libourne
11:35 AM
Can Cavendish break Merckx’s record?
Thursday saw Tadej Pogacar claim another landmark victory in the 18th stage of the Tour de France to edge closer to retaining his title but a cloud of doping suspicion hung over the world’s greatest cycling race.
Before the start of yesterday’s stage, the French prosecutor’s office said it had opened a preliminary investigation into the Bahrain Victorious team after police searched the outfit’s accommodation and bus on Wednesday.
The prosecutor’s office in Marseille said the investigation was into “acquisition, transport, possession, import of a prohibited substance or prohibited method for use by an athlete without medical justification.”
Bahrain Victorious said they were complying with the investigation.
“I don’t know about this, it’s something completely strange,” UAE Emirates rider Pogacar told a news conference. “I guess it’s just one more control to see that nobody’s hiding anything and I think the results of the raids were good.
“We just found about it in the morning. It’s one more thing to control the sport.”
All Bahrain Victorious riders started the stage but none of them weighed on the race, having been kept up by the searches deep into the night, with Dutchman Wout Poels falling behind Pogacar in the mountains classification.
The Slovenian’s brutal acceleration 500 metres from the line, at the top of Luz Ardiden (13.3km at 7.4 per cent), could not be matched by his rivals as Denmark’s Jonas Vingegaard and Ecuador’s Richard Carapaz finished two seconds behind in second and third respectively.
The result was a carbon copy of Wednesday’s summit finish at the Col du Portet, where Pogacar had already beaten Vingegaard and Carapaz in the second of his three stage wins in this year’s Tour.
“I can’t believe what’s happening to me. Today was a really big stage. My legs were not at 100 per cent and I suffered in the Tourmalet,” said Pogacar.
“The ascent to Luz Ardiden was tough, too, but I found my rhythm and I had enough energy for the final sprint.”
Overall, Pogacar now has a massive advantage of five minutes 45 seconds over Jumbo-Visma’s Vingegaard with Carapaz of Ineos Grenadiers in third place overall, a further six seconds behind.
Colombian Rigoberto Uran (EF Education-Nippo), fourth overall at the start, cracked in the penultimate ascent to the Col du Tourmalet to drop out of the top 10.
Australian Ben O’Connor of AG2R-Citroen is now fourth, 8:18 off the pace two days before Saturday’s final individual time trial.
In addition to the yellow, Pogacar now holds the white jersey for the best Under-25 rider and the polka-dot jersey for the mountains classification.
Today’s stage sees what’s left of the peloton travel 207km from Mourenx to Libourne. After some tough days in the mountains, the sprinters get their chance to shine once more. Expect a bunch-sprint finish.
The approach to the finish in Libourne is very straightforward but the last kilometre is very slightly uphill.
Mark Cavendish is the favourite and should he win he’ll set the record for most stage wins in the Tour de France.
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