Primoz Roglic (LottoNL-Jumbo)wins stage 19 Tour d France.

Primoz Roglic (LottoNL-Jumbo) shot  series of relentless attacks to take an emphatic stage victory in Laruns, Tour d France.It was a breathless final mountain stage of the 2018 tour d France in the Pyrenees.

How it unfolded

There were 146 nervous riders at the start of the last big mountain stage of the 2018 Tour de France in Lourdes: with the daunting Col d'Aspin, Col du Tourmalet, and the final ascent of the Col d'Aubisque standing between their tired legs and the final push to Paris. It would be a fight for the sprinters to keep contact at the back and a battle at the front for the baroudeurs - and one last shot for any GC riders to threaten Team Sky's grip on the race.

First, there was the matter of the category 4 ascents of the Cote de Loucrup and Cote de Capvern-les-Bains in the first 40km, a perfect launching pad for the breakaway artists. Thomas De Gendt's luck continued to elude him, and the Lotto Soudal rider's initial attack was nullified and countered by Damien Gaudin (Direct Energie), Lukas Postlberger (Bora-Hansgrohe) and Silvan Dillier (AG2R La Mondiale).

Top Ten General Classification Standing after Roglic gained time.

       
1, Geraint Thomas (Great Britain) Team Sky 79:49:31,
2, Tom Dumoulin (Netherland) Team Sunweb 00:02:05,
3, Primoz Roglic (Slovakia) LottoNL-Jumbo 00:02:24,
4, Chris Froome (Great Britain) Team Sky 00:02:37,
5,Steven Kruijswijk (Netherland) LottoNL-Jumbo 00:04:37,
6, Mikel Landa (Spain) Movistar Team 00:04:40,
7, Romain Bardet (France) AG2R La Mondiale 00:05:15,
8, Daniel Martin (Ireland) UAE Team Emirates 00:06:39,
9, Nairo Quintana (Colombia) Movistar Team 00:10:26,
10, Ilnur Zakarin (Russia) Katusha-Alpecin 00:11:49

Nairo Quintana (Movistar) wins stage 17 tour d France.

Nairo Quintana (Movistar) solo's to stage 17 victory atop Col du Portet Tour de France. He attack on the final climb and ride to finish alone in the summit of Col du Portet to take his first win in five years.

How it unfolded 

The 65km 17th stage from Bagnères-de-Luchon to Saint-Lary-Soulan always promised fireworks, and it delivered from the starting gun on Wednesday. After lining up in the Tour's first-ever Formula 1-type grid start by GC ranking, the riders started climbing immediately on the category 1 Col de Peyresourde/Montée de Peyragudes, reaching the 1,645m summit just 15km into the day.

A quick descent into Loudenvielle led to the category 1 Col de Val Louron-Azet at 37km. from there, another long descent took the riders to the final gruelling climb, the hors category Col du Portet, the highest peak of the Tour at 2,215m on a road that was only paved just a few weeks before the Tour.

Top Ten General Classification Standings.

1, Geraint Thomas (Great Britain) Team Sky 70:34:11,
2, Tom Dumoulin (Netherland) Team Sunweb 0:01:59,
3, Chris Froome (Great Britain) Team Sky 0:02:31,
4, Primoz Roglic (Slovakia) LottoNL-Jumbo 0:02:47,
5, Nairo Quintana (Colombia) Movistar Team 0:03:30,
6, Steven Kruijswijk (Netherland) LottoNL-Jumbo 0:04:19,
7, Mikel Landa (Spain) Movistar Team 0:04:34,
8, Romain Bardet (France) AG2R La Mondiale 0:05:13,
9, Daniel Martin (Ireland) UAE Team Emirates 0:06:33,
10, Jakob Fuglsang (Denmark) Astana Pro Team 0:09:31

Magnus Cort Nielsen (Astana Team) wins stage 15 tour d France.

Magnus Cort Nielsen (Astana Team) naps second consecutive stage victory win for team Astana in Carcassonne,Tour d France. He  win the sprint from the three-man group with Ion Izagirre (Bahrain-Merida) took second, with Bauke Mollema (Trek-Segafredo) third.

How stage 15 Unfolded

Stage 15 of the Tour, the final transition stage before the rest day and then the Pyrenees, ran 181.5km from Millau to Carcassonne ‒ possible ambush territory given the third, second and first category climbs en route.

First up, among the trio of sharp climbs that started the day, was the Côte de Luzençon (3.1km at 5.9 per cent) just 9km into the day. The category two Col de Sié (10.2km at 4.9 per cent) came after 64.5km, before a long and lumpy 'descent' into the valley before the main climb of the day - the 12.3km, 6.3 per cent Pic de Nore, which came after 140km. A largely downhill 41.5km to the finish followed, raising the possibility of a GC ambush on the climb.

Top Ten General Classification Standings

1, Geraint Thomas (Great Britain) Team Sky 62:49:47,
2, Chris Froome (Great Britain) Team Sky 00:01:39,
3, Tom Dumoulin (Netherland) Team Sunweb 00:01:50,
4, Primoz Roglic (Slovakia) LottoNL-Jumbo 00:02:38,
5, Romain Bardet (France) AG2R La Mondiale 00:03:21,
6, Mikel Landa (Spain) Movistar Team 00:03:42,
7, Steven Kruijswijk (Ned) LottoNL-Jumbo 00:03:57,
8, Nairo Quintana (Colombia) Movistar Team 00:04:23,
9, Jakob Fuglsang (Denmark) Astana Pro Team 00:06:14,
10, Daniel Martin (Ireland) UAE Team Emirates 00:06:54

Omar Fraile (Astana Team) wins stage 14 in Mendez, Tour d France.

Omar Fraile (Astana Team) solo's to stage 14 victory on Mende airstrip, Tour d France. He survive from a large  breakaway group to win. The Spaniard beat polka dot jersey wearer Julian Alaphilippe (Quick-Step Floors) and Jasper Stuyven (Trek-Segafredo) by six seconds in order to take his third victory of the season, the biggest of his career.

How Stage 14 Unfolded

Another transitional stage between the Alps and Pyrenees, this one came with a sting in the tail in the form of the uphill finish at the airstrip in Mende. After a largely flat start, the hills reared up midway through as the peloton headed towards the Massif Central.

First up, there was the Côte du Grand Châtaignier (1km at 7.4 per cent) at 81km, 9km before the intermediate sprint at Bessèges. The real climbing started with the second category Col de la Croix de Berthel (9.1km at 5.3 per cent), coming 129km into the 188km stage. A third category climb - the Col du Pont sans Eau (3.3km at 6.3 per cent) followed at 142km before an uncategorised lump and the valley before the finale.

Top General Standing

1, Geraint Thomas (Great Britain) Team Sky 58:10:44,
2, Chris Froome (Great Britain) Team Sky 00:01:39,
3, Tom Dumoulin (Netherland) Team Sunweb 00:01:50,
4, Primoz Roglic (Slovakia) LottoNL-Jumbo 00:02:38,
5, Romain Bardet (France) AG2R La Mondiale 00:03:21,
6, Mikel Landa (Spain) Movistar Team 00:03:42,
7, Steven Kruijswijk (Netherland) LottoNL-Jumbo 00:03:57,
8, Nairo Quintana (Colombia) Movistar Team 00:04:23,
9, Jakob Fuglsang (Denmark) Astana Pro Team 00:06:14,
10, Daniel Martin (Ireland) UAE Team Emirates 00:06:54

Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) wins stage 13 tour d France.

Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) wins his third stage in Valence, Tour d France. The world champion, who is leading the points classification, waited patiently to start his sprint, coming around Alexander Kristoff (UAE Team Emirates) in second, while Arnaud Demare (Groupama-FDJ), who started the sprint early faded third place.

With his third stage win he increases his points for the green jersey competition.

Top Ten General Classification Standings

Geraint Thomas (Great Britain) Team Sky 53:10:38,
2, Chris Froome (Great Britain) Team Sky 00:01:39,
3, Tom Dumoulin (Netherland) Team Sunweb 00:01:50,
4, Primoz Roglic (Slo) LottoNL-Jumbo 00:02:46,
5, Romain Bardet (France) AG2R La Mondiale 00:03:07,
6, Mikel Landa (Spain) Movistar Team 00:03:13,
7, Steven Kruijswijk (Netherland) LottoNL-Jumbo 00:03:43,
8, Nairo Quintana (Colombia) Movistar Team 00:04:13,
9, Daniel Martin (Ireland) UAE Team Emirates 00:05:11,
10, Jakob Fuglsang (Denmark) Astana Pro Team 00:05:45.

Geraint Thomas (Team Sky) Sprints to stage 12 victory atop Alpe d'Huez

Geraint Thomas (Team Sky) beats his rivals to win his second stage victory atop iconic Alpe d'Huez, Tour d France while wearing the race leader's yellow jersey.

How stage 12 unfolded

After the previous day's brutal Alpine stage that finished in La Rosière, there were only 161 starters for stage 12. Standing in his yellow jersey at the start line, Thomas had predicted that the day would be a challenging one. "It's a long day, the hardest of the three in the Alps. It's a big, big finish up Alpe d'Huez. I'm sure it'll be exciting to watch.

Top Ten General classification

1, Geraint Thomas (Great Britain) Team Sky 49:24:43,
 2, Chris Froome (Great Britain) Team Sky 0:01:39,
3, Tom Dumoulin (Netherland) Team Sunweb 0:01:50,
 4, Vincenzo Nibali (Italy) Bahrain-Merida 0:02:37,
 5, Primoz Roglic (Slovakia) LottoNL-Jumbo 0:02:46,
 6, Romain Bardet (France) AG2R La Mondiale 0:03:07,
7, Mikel Landa (Spain) Movistar Team 0:03:13,
8, Steven Kruijswijk (Netherland) LottoNL-Jumbo 0:03:43,
9, Nairo Quintana (Colombia) Movistar Team 0:04:13,
10, Daniel Martin (Ireland) UAE Team Emirates 0:05:11

Geraint Thomas (Team Sky) wins tour d France stage 11

Geraint Thomas (Team Sky) attacks to win stage 11 victory in La Rosière, Tour d France. His stage win propel's him into the yellow jersey and the overrall general classification standing.

How the stage unfolded

After watching Julian Alaphilippe go all the way the previous afternoon, there was once again no shortage of interest in the breakaway on the second of three days in the Alps. More than 40 riders managed to escape the clutches of the peloton, though many would fall away once the road began to rise in earnest. One of them was Peter Sagan, who struck out for a second day in a row to collect the points at the intermediate sprint, adding to his lead in the green jersey standings before drifting back through the peloton to the soon-to-be-formed gruppetto.

Top Ten General classification standings

1, Geraint Thomas (Great Britain) Team Sky 44:06:16,
2, Chris Froome (Great Britain) Team Sky 0:01:25,
3, Tom Dumoulin (Netherland) Team Sunweb 0:01:44,
4, Vincenzo Nibali (Italy) Bahrain-Merida 0:02:14,
5, Primoz Roglic (Slovakia) LottoNL-Jumbo 0:02:23,
6, Steven Kruijswijk (Netherland) LottoNL-Jumbo 0:02:40,
7, Mikel Landa (Spain) Movistar Team 0:02:56,
8, Romain Bardet (France) AG2R La Mondiale 0:02:58,
9, Nairo Quintana (Colombia) Movistar Team 0:03:16,
10, Daniel Martin (Ireland) UAE Team Emirates 0:03:16.

John Degenkolb (Trek-Segafredo) wins stage 9 in Roubaix, Tour d France.

John Degenkolb (Trek-Segafredo) outsprints Greg Van Avermaet (BMC Racing) to win stage 9 in Roubaix, Tour d France.

Rafal Majka under Oliver Naesen wheels.

How stage 9 Unfolded

Last included in 2015, the cobbles of Paris-Roubaix made a reappearance at the Tour de France for stage nine, which ran 156.5km between Arras and Roubaix. A total of 21.7km of cobbles featured, — eight kilometres more than 2015 — including some of the toughest sectors from Paris-Roubaix such as Auchy à Bersée and Mons-en-Pévèle.

 Meanwhile, Porte left the race on stage 9 for the second year in a row. The Australian crashed before the race reached the cobbles, and abandoned clutching his right collarbone.

Surprises

Crashes and mechanical problems were, unsurprisingly, a major theme of the day. Romain Bardet (AG2R La Mondiale) suffered a puncture and changed bikes twice, later suffering another mechanical in the midst of the cobbled sectors. Michael Valgren (Astana), Dylan Groenewegen (LottoNL-Jumbo), Egan Bernal (Team Sky) and Niki Terpstra (Quick Step Floors) were among those to hit the deck before the riders reached the major cobbled sectors.

1, Greg Van Avermaet (Belgium) BMC Racing Team 36:07:17,
2, Geraint Thomas (Great Britain) Team Sky 0:00:43,
3, Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Quick-Step Floors 0:00:44,
4, Bob Jungels (Luxembourg) Quick-Step Floors 0:00:50
5, Alejandro Valverde (Spain) Movistar Team 0:01:31,
6, Rafal Majka (Poland) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:01:32,
7, Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Astana Pro Team 0:01:33
8, Chris Froome (Great Britain) Team Sky 0:01:42,
9, Adam Yates (Great Britain) Mitchelton-Scott 0:01:42,
10, Mikel Landa (Spain) Movistar Team 0:01:42