Ben O'Connor Wins Etape 18 Tour De France, Vingegaard Fails To Thwart Pogacar

Australian racer Ben O'Connor won an incredible victory at the Etape 18 Tour de France (photo: x @LeTour)

JAKARTA Australian racer Ben O'Connor won an extraordinary victory at the Etape 18 Tour de France on Thursday, July 24. Meanwhile, Jonas Vingegaard's efforts to overthrow leaders Tadej Pogacar actually fell apart in the path of the Alps which was the hardest in this year's race.

O'Connor, who defended Jayco Alula's team, was fierce by launching a solo attack on Col de la Loze's brutal incline and never turned his back. He also locked his second win at the Tour after previously winning at Tignes in 2021.

"I feel much better today from the start. I was active and when I reached the top of Col de la Madeleine with Jonas and Pogi, I started thinking there was an opportunity," O'Connor was quoted as saying by VOI from Reuters.

Pogacar maintains his yellow shirt with incredible calm, finishing second and recording 11 seconds apart from Vingegaard. With this result, his overall advantage swelled to 4 minutes 26 seconds.

👑 5,450m of elevation gain, 3 Hors Catégorie passes, and a finish at the top of the terrifying Col de la Loze... This 18th stage had enough to intimidate the peloton, but not Ben O'Connor!

▶️ Here's the summary of the 18th stage of #TDF2025! pic.twitter.com/AWuTMfuSkW

— Tour de France™ (@LeTour) July 24, 2025

5,450m of expansion gain, 3 Hors Category passes, and a finish at the top of the territorial Col de la Loze... This 18th stage had enough to approximate the Peloton, but not Ben O'Connor!

Here's the summary of the 18th stage of #TDF2025! pic.twitter.com/AWuTMfuSkW

"Today is brutal. Maybe the toughest stage I've ever faced on a Tour," said Vingegaard, who looks very tired on the finish line. We have big plans, you can see for yourself, but I can't take a second from Tadej. This tour is not over yet, but...

The Visma-Lease a Bike team came to the Alps with a total strategy on the etape which was filled with three monster climbs. But their plan failed completely. At the 19.2 km Col de la Madeleine, Sepp Kuss had attacked hard and divided the group. Matteo Jorgenson, who was already in the front group, became a sacrificial pawn when Vingegaard attacked 5 km before the summit. But Pogacar easily followed him.

Then something confusing happened. After a sharp derivation, Vingegaard suddenly relaxed the pedaling in the lowlands. He seemed to invite rivals to rejoin and make his team's aggressiveness in vain. Jorgenson had returned to the group but was immediately left behind again.

Meanwhile up front, O'Connor saw opportunities and attacked with high precision. He left Einer Rubio cruelly as he headed for the finish line at the extreme-famous Col de la Loze. Rubio was unable to reply, and doubts from the top standings made O'Connor free to advance to finish.

Behind him, Visma-Lease a Bike tried to speed up the tempo, but the result was nil. Towards the last 2 km, Vingegaard tried the last attack, but Pogacar remained calm and instead responded at an incredible speed of 500 meters before finishing. He passed Rubio and added six seconds of bonus time, strengthening his path towards his fourth Tour de France title.

Meanwhile, German driver Florian Lipowitz maintained his third position despite being left behind by Oscar Onley after his solo attack on his last climb failed completely. Lipowitz is now only 22 seconds ahead of the Briton ahead of Albertville's last mountain stage to La Plagne.