Tour de France 2026: Richard Carapaz wins stage 18

Ecuador's Richard Carapaz of EF Education-Easypost won stage 18 of the Tour de France 2026 with a commanding breakaway ride, finishing 45 seconds ahead of Switzerland's Mauro Schmid (Jayco-Alula) in second and Matteo Jorgenson (Visma-Lease a Bike) in third. Carapaz, a 2020 Olympic road race gold medalist, demonstrated strong tactical riding to distance his rivals. Meanwhile, overall leader Tadej Pogacar's UAE Team Emirates-XRG team was reportedly affected by sickness among key riders.