Tour de France – Stage 18 – A Mountainous Finale

On Thursday, July 23, 2026, the 18th stage of the Tour de France, contested between Voiron and Orcières-Merlette, served as an appetizer before a weekend in the Alps that all fans considered to be extremely challenging. True to its aggressive mindset since the Grand Départ in Barcelona, the Cofidis team once again attempted to take the lead. As has often been the case since the start of this edition, the breakaway took a while to form. Ion Izagirre managed to join a chasing group, though he was unable to catch up with the leaders. Despite several attempts, the gap never fell below twenty seconds.
At the end of the day, all eyes are now on the final two Alpine stages. With a succession of legendary mountain passes and impressive elevation gains, there will be plenty of opportunities to make a difference. The Cofidis team will approach these stages determined to once again play a key role in the race and seize every opportunity,
 

Ion Izagirre: “It was another tough day. We tried to get into the breakaway, but it didn’t really work out. In my group, some riders had their own goals, others had teammates up front, and others had leaders at the back. There were attacks throughout the stage. We knew there was a good chance we’d see a breakaway on the first climb. There were plenty of attacks and plenty of groups. On the next climb, we managed to join another small group, but we never managed to catch up to the others and… well, in the end, it was a very tough day and a very tough stage.”

Bingen Fernandez: “It was an extremely fast stage where the riders took off very quickly. Our plan was to get Ion (Izagirre) into the breakaway. He was in the second group. There was no coordination to work together and catch up to the front. When they closed the gap to 20 seconds, attacks started, there was a lack of coordination, and the leading group pulled away again. The team’s attitude was good, but the strong riders got away today.”