Overview
- Jasper Philipsen, who won Stage 17 on Wednesday, took his first stage victory of this Tour in a reduced bunch sprint from Chambéry to Voiron.
- Mathieu van der Poel delivered a decisive lead-out that put Philipsen clear at the finish and secured the Belgian his 11th career Tour stage win.
- The 50 points for the stage win moved Philipsen to within seven points of green-jersey leader Mads Pedersen, tightening the sprinters' competition.
- Tadej Pogačar kept the yellow jersey with a 4 minute 32 second lead over Remco Evenepoel, but UAE Team Emirates faces concern after Adam Yates battled a stomach illness and finished more than 26 minutes down.
- The race now heads into three high-mountain stages and a final time trial that will test depleted domestique ranks and likely determine whether challengers can cut into Pogačar’s advantage.