Tour de France 2025 - Stage 18: Vif to Courchevel (Col de la Loze)
The 18th stage from Vif to Col de la Loze was 171.5 km long. The peloton faced a massive 5,450 meters of elevation, with three challenging climbs along the route: first the Col du Glandon (21.7 km at 5.1%), then the Col de la Madeleine (19.2 km at 7.9%), and finally, the Col de la Loze – a brutal 26.4 km ascent with an average gradient of 6.5%.
🇦🇺 Australian win on the Col de la Loze! AMAZING Ben O'Connor!
— Tour de France™ (@LeTour) July 24, 2025
🇦🇺 Victoire australienne au Col de la Loze ! MAGNIFIQUE Ben O'Connor !#TDF2025 | @Continental_fr pic.twitter.com/wI7FvE67n0
"From the very beginning, I felt great. I was very active. At the top of the Madeleine, I first thought that today could be my day. I was with Tadej and Jonas, and soon I had the opportunity to go on the attack. I’ve already ridden well on the Loze before, but it’s nice to repeat a strong performance – this time as the winner," said a visibly relieved stage winner Ben O’Connor. He added: "This is the toughest race in the world. I’ve been battling for third and fourth places for years. I couldn’t be prouder."
Tadej Pogačar launched a counterattack in the final section of the climb, taking another 11 seconds off Jonas Vingegaard. With just three stages left, Pogačar now leads the general classification by 4:26 over the Dane. Florian Lipowitz sits in third place, already trailing by 11 minutes.
Stage Highlights:
The first third of the stage was marked by Primož Roglič, who launched an early attack. None of the GC contenders responded, allowing the Slovenian to build a lead of over three minutes with 82 km to go, putting him virtually in third place overall.
However, things started to change on the climb to the Madeleine. As expected, Visma Lease a Bike dictated the pace. Sepp Kuss reduced the main group, and 4.6 km from the top of the Madeleine, Vingegaard made his first move – but Pogačar responded without any trouble.
The leading group of GC riders, including Roglič, Pogačar, and Vingegaard, regrouped just under 4 km before the summit of the Madeleine, crossing the brutal hors catégorie climb surrounded by a sea of Slovenian flags.
After the descent, all that remained was the final, infamous climb to the Loze. Matteo Jorgenson, Ben O’Connor, and Einer Rubio broke away from Pogačar, Vingegaard, Roglič, and Lipowitz (alongside the last Loze winner, Felix Gall). Before the start of the last ascent, the breakaway held a lead of just over two minutes.
O’Connor and Rubio remained in front, while Jorgenson began to fade and drop back towards Vingegaard’s group. Vingegaard still had support from Kuss and Simon Yates, while Pogačar was backed by Jhonatan Narvaez and Adam Yates.
About 15 km from the top, O’Connor attacked and went solo for the stage win. In the chase group, UAE relinquished control of the pace to Visma. At 12 km to go, Simon Yates finished his turn, and Narvaez picked up the tempo, creating a serious shake-up.
On the steepest sections of the Loze, Adam Yates led Pogačar’s group. Vingegaard was left without teammates, and Roglič struggled to stay with Oscar Onley. Yates’s pace was too high for Roglič, who eventually dropped off.
In the final moments, with O’Connor just 600 meters from the finish, Vingegaard attacked. Pogačar and Onley followed without much effort. In the last kilometer, Pogačar countered, quickly dropping the Dane and beating him by 11 seconds at the line! Roglič finished 2:46 behind the stage winner, taking 7th place.
