The Australian Ben O’Connor won the royal stage of the Tour de France. The Australian won at Col de la Loze at 2304 meters. Tadej Pogacar took second place, and Jonas Vingegaard finished third. Florian Lipowitz lost time, but was able to defend his third place in the overall classification.
For the Australian it is the second stage victory at the tour after 2021. The 29-year-old from the Jayco Alula team was part of the first outlier group of the day at the 18th stage and set off early on the 26-kilometer final increase.
As at Mont Ventoux, Pogacar had behaved relatively defensively in the final. Jonas Vingegaard, the overall runner-up, then attacked 800 meters in front of the finish, but the Slovenian stayed on the back wheel of the Danish. Only at the last few meters did the Slovenian use its greater explosiveness and took off his adversary for a few more seconds. Pogacar finished 1:54 minutes behind, Vingegaard nine seconds behind (+1: 54 minutes).
The German Team Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe went on the race aggressively, but ended up empty hands. Lipowitz had already attacked before the final climb, but had to pay for it in the end. The 24-year-old finished eleventh (+ 3:37 minutes). His main competitor for the third overall rank stayed on the last kilometer on the two tour favorites. The Scotsman finished fourth in the end and do 1:37 minutes on Lipowitz.
The 18th stage up to the roof of the tour at 2304 meters was a real hammer. 5450 meters of altitude had to be climbed from VIF to Col de la Loze on the 171.5 kilometers. For Pogacar it was the return to the place of his biggest defeat at the Tour de France. In 2023, the Slovenian collapsed completely at the Col de la Loze and lost several minutes to the later tour winner Vingegaard. At that time, the goal was a little lower in Courzevel.
How difficult the stage was on the fourth day of the tour was also reflected in the mountain points. There were a total of 80 points to get the three mountain ratings of the highest category. Before the start, Pogacar and Lenny Martinez were at the top of the mountain ranking with 60 points each.
Roglic and Gall in the first top group
The first thing for the professionals in the 21.7 -kilometer climb to Col du Glandon was the first thing to do. And there was a surprise here. Primoz Roglic immediately went on the offensive and set off from the main field. With 11:42 minutes behind the fifth in the overall classification, he was not a great danger for the UAE team of the tour leader.
A 13-member top group with Roglic reached the first mountain ranking. Martinez in the mountain jersey won 20 mountain points at 1924 meters. Only Thymen Arensman kept in, but pulled the shorter one. In addition to Roglic, there was also a second driver from the top 10 of the classification. The overall seventh Gall had obviously made something like 2023. In contrast to Pogacar, Austria experienced a great moment at the Col de la Lo Loze and later below the Alpine giant. Gall won the royal stage at the time as a soloist.
Martinez falls back, MAS has to give up
The second of three mountain ratings of the day followed. Martinez was no longer there on the 19 -kilometer climb to Col de la Madeleine. The young Frenchman already had problems on the Glandon and dropped back on the departure. The tour in front of the second mountain was over for Enric Mas. The Spaniard, who drove alone almost ten kilometers on Mont Ventoux, had to give up after he was even briefly in the top group.
Already on the Col de la Madeleine, the top group and the main field were increasingly reduced. In the peloton around the tour favorites, it was only 16 drivers after more than half of the climb. Kevin Vaquelin, overall sixth, had to be torn down. At the front of the race there were still six outliers – Roglic, Gall, Arensman were still there, as well as Matteo Jorgenson, Ben O’Connor and a Rubio.
Vingegaard attacks 71 kilometers before the finish
In the upper third of the Madeleine, Visma accelerated the pace in such a way that Sepp Kuss only had his captain Vingegaard, Pogacar and Lipowitz in tow. The tour leader from Slovenia was already isolated from its helpers for the first time. Vingegaard, on the other hand, had a strong mountaineer with Jorgenson at the front. Vingegaard’s first attack came about five kilometers before the mountain ranking and 71 kilometers before the finish line. The German had to let them tear down. Vingegaard then led the new top group with Pogacar and five remaining outliers over the second mountain pass of the day.
Arensmann, who had been the only outlier, and Lipowitz were the pursuers and were able to catch up on the departure, also because nobody wanted to take the pace in the top group. There were new attacks. Lipowitz also attacked 33 kilometers before the finish – in the favorite group there was now standstill – and the German was successful. At the beginning of the final climb, he was even two minutes before the group around the yellow jersey. Jorgensen and O’Connor were at the forefront at this time.
Lipowitz attacks too early
But at the final climb, the sheet turned for the German. The bigger group of favorites came closer and closer. And his main controller for third place in the classification, Oscar onley, was able to save in the forces. Lipowitz, on the other hand, drove alone in the wind. In addition, Pogacar now had helpers at his side again, Adam Yates and Jhonatan Narvaez made speed for UAE. And in the upper third of the climb the escape from Lipowitz was over. It didn’t take long and Lipowitz lost the connection – the German had left too much strength while fleeing. On the other hand, onley stayed on the rear wheel of Vingegaard and Pogacar for a long time.
At the top, O’Connor fought for the stage victory. The Australian had settled 15.8 kilometers before the finish. He went to the last five kilometers with a lead of over a three -minute lead. It should be enough.
Last mountain arrival on Friday
On Friday it continues with the fifth and last mountain arrival of the tour. And the second Alpine stage also has it all. A whopping 4550 meters of altitude must be overcome on just 130 kilometers from Albertville to La Plagne. The final climb at the 18th stage is 19.1 kilometers long and has an average of 7.2 percent climb.