Tadej Pogacar extended his yellow jersey lead at the Tour de France by gaining time on the Col de la Loze. Ben O'Connor won stage 18 following a strong attack during a hailstorm. Pogacar's performance marked a turnaround from his previous struggles in 2023, adding 11 seconds to his lead over competitor Jonas Vingegaard. Young cyclist Oscar Onley showed promising performance, keeping pace with favorites and moving closer to the podium. O'Connor's win was a significant personal achievement after injuries disrupted his initial race ambitions.
Tadej Pogacar conquered his demons on the Col de la Loze to stretch his advantage in yellow as Ben O'Connor won stage 18 of the Tour de France in a hailstorm.
On the mountain where Pogacar famously cracked in 2023, he was the one gaining time two years later, adding 11 seconds to an overall lead of four minutes 26 seconds over Vingegaard.
Oscar Onley, the 22-year-old Scot, hung with the two main favourites until the last 500m of this brutal stage, gaining 39 seconds on Florian Lipowitz.
Stage honours belonged to O'Connor, who attacked on the valley road leaving Einer Rubio behind, achieving his second career Tour stage win after overcoming injuries from an earlier crash.
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