Victor Campenaerts (Lotto Dstny) outsprinted his two breakaway companions Mattéo Vercher (TotalEnergies) and Michał Kwiatkowski (Ineos Grenadiers) to win stage 18 in Barcelonnette on Thursday. Vercher ended up second, while Kwiatkowski took third.
Campenaerts afterwards described the win as a dream victory. “As a true professional, you have to have ridden the Tour once, and you want to finish it. But winning a stage is everyone’s dream. I’m not a neo-pro anymore, I’ve been dreaming about this for a very long time. The team gave me a lot of confidence, everyone knew I had good legs. I was already aiming for this stage in December. This was the only stage where I saw a chance to win. I went into the breakaway with only one cartridge. I may have played it a bit dirty by feigning that I was in a lot of pain. I didn’t have to do too many turns, I followed the moves and we had a good attack with the three of us. We worked very well together until the last kilometer. It’s incredible.”
Vercher was disappointed with losing out, but acknowledged he wasn’t the best in the end. “Coming second is definitely shit, but that’s part of the game. If we look at the entire day, this is a good result. I wanted to do my job for the teammates and never thought it would be for me at all. I wasn’t so sure about my legs either, but in the end I was beaten by a stronger rider.”
Kwiatkowski responded on X. “A tough final result to swallow, but I gave 100%. One of those days where @LeTour crushes your emotions. An old man crying like a baby. Congratulations to @VCampenaerts.”
Van Aert was disappointed to have missed the break, but admitted he didn’t have the legs. “It wasn’t a nice moment at the top of the climb. Kwiatkowski rode away there because he had the legs. I had just reacted and had to pass. I was happy that Bart (Lemmen) was able to slide in.”
Tadej Pogacar was happy to have an easy day where he didn’t feel the need to attack. “It feels good to have an easier day like this one. Actually, the course never allowed us to get too relaxed, as it was up and down the whole time and that made it hard. In any case, we were under control. I’m really enjoying my time at this Tour de France. The atmosphere within the team is great, and I love seeing so many Slovenian fans on the roadside. Do I play with home advantage this weekend? Not really. My only advantage is those 3’11” I have on Jonas. As for my strategy, I will start on the defensive to later see if I can go on the offensive, as it can be a good stage for Jonas himself.”
RESULTS
Stage 18: Gap > Barcelonnette (179.5km)
Results powered by FirstCycling.com
