Tour de France 2019 Results: Latest Standings After Nairo Quintana Wins Stage 18

Featured Columnist IIJuly 25, 2019

Colombia's Nairo Quintana celebrates as he wins on the finish line of the eighteenth stage of the 106th edition of the Tour de France cycling race between Embrun and Valloire, in Valloire, on July 25, 2019. (Photo by Marco Bertorello / AFP) (Photo credit should read MARCO BERTORELLO/AFP/Getty Images)

MARCO BERTORELLO/Getty Images

Nairo Quintana secured a dominant victory on Stage 18 of the 2019 Tour de France on Thursday, crossing the finish line in Valloire ahead of Romain Bardet and Alexey Lutsenko:

Le Tour de France UK @letour_uk
🇨🇴 AND HE DOES IT! @NairoQuinCo has taken the win on an absolutely ruthless stage 18! #TDF2019 https://t.co/5pjGyq7xoc

A dramatic day of action saw the Colombian star produce a brilliant ride to win the stage by one minute and 35 seconds to move into seventh place in the general classification.

Julian Alaphilippe remains in the yellow jersey with a lead of one minute and 30 seconds over Egan Bernal, who has moved into second place ahead of defending champion Geraint Thomas:

the Inner Ring @inrng
New GC #TDF2019 https://t.co/dYsPfS60wA

Quintana has endured a disappointing Tour but picked up a morale-boosting win in some style on a gruelling day in the Alps, with AccuWeather reporting a heat wave was set to push temperatures up to 40 degrees celsius.

The Colombian attacked from a breakaway group on the final climb of the stage up the Col du Galibier:

He crested one minutes and 43 seconds ahead of Bardet, effectively sealing the stage. The Colombian then enjoyed a solo descent to the finish line in Valloire to claim a big win:

Tour de France™ @LeTour
⚡ @NairoQuinCo attacks! No-one is able to follow the Colombian! 🇨🇴 ⚡ Attaque de Nairo Quintana ! Personne ne peut suivre le Colombien ! 🇨🇴 #TDF2019 https://t.co/XzTo47Rv5C

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There was plenty of drama behind Quintana on a crucial day for Alaphilippe in the yellow jersey.

Bernal also attacked on the Galibier and made up time on his rivals, moving from fifth into second place in the general classification:

letourdata @letourdata
Full-on action in the last part of the Col du Galibier! Egan Bernal was the fastest while Thibaut Pinot managed to reply to Geraint Thomas' acceleration. #TDF2019 #TDFdata https://t.co/6Ax785HDjt

Team INEOS @TeamINEOS
It's a brilliant effort by @Eganbernal. He takes back around 30 seconds on his GC rivals at the line, with @GeraintThomas86 finishing in the same group as the yellow jersey #TDF2019 https://t.co/y4LmwocCOo

Team-mate Thomas also made a move but was caught on the descent into Valloire and ended the day dropping a place in the standings. The defending champion offered his thoughts after the race:

ITV Cycling @itvcycling
"I had a little dig just to see if anything would happen." @GeraintThomas86 spoke after slipping down one place in the GC after stage 18 https://t.co/H2Dm5QlbUW

Meanwhile, Alaphilippe survived what was expected to be a tough day for the Frenchman.

The leader looked in trouble as Quintana and Bernal attacked, but a strong descent meant his lead was cut by just five seconds:

Juliet Macur @JulietMacur
My heart is racing just watching this descent from the Galibier. Every time Alaphilippe makes a turn down the switchbacks, it looks like he’s about one centimeter from flying into — or off of — the mountain. Great, scary effort from the man in the yellow jersey. 😮#TDF19

The 27-year-old is now just three days away from becoming the first Frenchman since Bernard Hinault in 1985 to win the Tour de France.