Victor Campenaerts of Lotto Dstny claimed a superb sprint victory from a three-man breakaway on stage 18 of the Tour de France, a highly active hilly stage. The Belgian rider outpaced his rivals in a tense finale to secure his first Tour stage win.
Campenaerts, who will leave his team at the end of the season, was visibly emotional after the finish. “Winning a stage is everyone’s dream … I’m not a neo pro, I’ve been dreaming of this for a very long time,” he said. He dedicated the win to his girlfriend and newborn son, crediting their support for his success.
The breakaway group, which also included Michał Kwiatkowski (Ineos Grenadiers) and Frenchman Vercher (TotalEnergies), worked well together until the final kilometre. Vercher launched an attack with about 1km to go, but Campenaerts reeled him in and then surged past to take the win.
“I think I played it very smart today,” Campenaerts said. “The team gave me a lot of confidence. This was a stage I aimed for in December already. Stage 18, I said, it’s the only stage I see for me to win.”
With three hard mountain stages remaining, Tadej Pogačar retains the yellow jersey with a lead of 3 minutes 11 seconds over Remco Evenepoel. Stage 19 features two HC climbs and a category one finish, promising more drama in the Alps.
