LIVE stage 18 Tour de France 2025 | Pogacar seeks revenge on terrain where Vingegaard has nothing to lose

The queen stage of this Tour will start in Vif. From there, the riders will head east towards the mountains, but first, there is an intermediate sprint. After 23.7 kilometers, the points for the green jersey will be handed out in Rioupéroux, while the route to get there is already slightly uphill. There is a good chance that the sprinter teams will keep the pack together until then.

From the intermediate sprint, it is only 15 kilometers to the foot of the first climb, the Col du Glandon. With a length of 21.7 kilometers, it is a reasonably long effort, although the average gradient of 5.1% is very misleading. That is because there are three distinct sections.

The first section is about 6 kilometers long and already has double-digit gradients. After a short descent, the second section begins, which is about 8 kilometers long. This section has a tough start, but it levels out towards the end. The riders are not at the top yet, because after a very short descent, they will have to climb another 4 kilometers. The last few kilometers are not particularly tough, but by then, the riders will already have accumulated a significant amount of elevation gain in their legs.

After the Glandon, the riders descend to Saint-Étienne-de-Cuines. From that village, it is only about 4 kilometers flat, after which the next climb looms. Unlike the Glandon, the Col de Madeleine is very consistent. With a length of 19.2 kilometers and an average gradient of 7.9%, it is an arduous climb. It actually climbs continuously at around 8%, with a few kilometers at an average gradient of 10%.

After the summit, which is at an altitude of 2000 meters, there is another long descent. In the village of Notre-Dame-de-Briançon, the riders are back in the valley, and at that point, it is just over 40 kilometers to the finish. It will be flat until Brides-les-Bains, but in that village the apotheosis of this queen stage begins, namely the Col de la Loze.

The grueling climb is approximately 26.4 kilometers long and has an average gradient of 6.5%. Although it is mainly the length that will intimidate the riders, the climb also has some very tough sections. Initially, the gradients fluctuate around 7%, followed by a black kilometer after 11 kilometers of climbing.

This is followed by a few kilometers that dip below 5%, but when the riders arrive in Les Verdons with just over 5 kilometers to go, the road climbs steeply again. A kilometer at 11% is followed by a very short descent, after which the last 4 kilometers will be tough until the finish. We finish at an altitude of just over 2300 meters, when the riders will have around 5500 meters of climbing in their legs. Impressive!

Nice, but not great: that's what the weather forecast looks like for Thursday. It won't be hot, with temperatures reaching a maximum of around 24 degrees Celsius. There may be a few showers here and there along the way, although most weather sites do not predict much rain. The wind will blow gently from the north, but will not play a significant role.

If anyone is motivated to win on Thursday, it is Tadej Pogacar. The Slovenian from UAE Emirates-XRG returns to the climb that cost him the Tour victory in 2023. He was beaten by Jonas Vingegaard, the Dane from Visma | Lease a Bike, who came closest to Pogacar's level in this Tour. A new duel between the two stars is therefore possible on the Col de la Loze, with UAE Emirates-XRG obviously riding for the victory. Something about revenge...

While two dogs are fighting over a bone, a third one runs away with it. That could very well be Florian Lipowitz on Thursday. The German from Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe is currently in third place, well behind the yellow jersey, and has already shown on Hautacam that he is the second-best climber in this Tour. However, his teammate Primoz Roglic is also improving day by day, which means that the Slovenian could well sprinkle some magic.

Oscar Onley is fully involved in the battle for third place. The young British rider from Picnic PostNL is just over two minutes behind Lipowitz and has already shown some impressive climbing skills. The same goes for number Kévin Vauquelin (Arkéa-B&B Hotels), although the Frenchman seems to be paying the price for an intense first week.

Number seven, Felix Gall, has fond memories of the final climb, as the Austrian from Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale won here two years ago on the Col de la Loze. However, it remains to be seen how his legs will hold up after losing some time on Mont Ventoux on Tuesday. On that legendary climb, Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost) made up a lot of time from the breakaway, passing Irishman Carlos Rodriguez (INEOS Grenadiers) in the GC. Tobias Halland Johannessen (Uno-X) also lost some time on Tuesday due to stomach problems.

That completes the top 10 in the GC, so we can now look at the best climbers behind them. That list certainly includes Thymen Arensman (INEOS Grenadiers), who has already shown his talent with his stage win in Superbagnères. Enric Mas (Movistar) was with the Dutchman in the breakaway on the Ventoux, but the Spaniard ultimately finished seventh in the stage. Santiago Buitrago (Bahrain Victorious) also showed good legs on Tuesday, while stage winner Valentin Paret-Peintre (Soudal Quick-Step) secured the most significant victory of his career.

More attackers? Definitely! Ben O'Connor (Jayco AlUla), Michael Storer (Tudor), Lenny Martinez (Bahrain Victorious), Pablo Castrillo, Einer Rubio (both Movistar), Sergio Higuita (XDS Astana), Guillaume Martin (Groupama-FDJ), Cristian Rodríguez (Arkéa-B&B Hotels), Michael Woods (Israel-Premier Tech)... All of them will be hoping that victory goes to the breakaway. And how much freedom will Matteo Jorgenson and Sepp Kuss get? If Pogacar proves impossible to crack, Visma | Lease a Bike could go for the stage win, although that seems unlikely.

Top favorites: Tadej Pogacar (UAE Emirates-XRG) and Jonas Vingegaard (Visma | Lease a Bike)