Tour de France 2013 Stage 18 Results: Winner, Leaderboard and Highlights

In one of the most iconic portions of the 2013 Tour de France, it was French star Christophe Riblon who stole the victory on Stage 18 with a time of four hours, 51 minutes and 32 seconds by dominating the 172.5-kilometer (107-mile) race.

After finishing seventh with a time of 4:54:50, general classification leader and yellow jersey holder Chris Froome continues to hold his position at the top of the standings.

Froome was penalized after the stage for a rules infraction that saw another rider retrieve nourishments for the overall leader. Sky Sports has more:

Riblon had an impressive ride that featured two trips up the Alpe d'Huez and took the late lead to win the stage. Despite leading for much of the final ascent, American Tejay van Garderen was forced to settle for second place, 59 seconds behind the stage winner with a time of 4:52:31.

Italian Moreno Moser managed a third-place finish with a time of 4:52:59, and Nairo Quintana managed a great run and ended the event with a respectable time of 4:53:44.

Joaquim Rodríguez raced to a fifth-place finish with a time of 4:53:47.    

Stage 18 was a daunting test of the cyclists' climbing abilities, and with a great mix of ascending and descending, even the most casual fan was treated to great visuals along the beautiful course.

Despite the tremendous effort by the stars of the sport on this stage, the cyclists will be back in action Friday for the next mountain portion of the race.

While Thursday was a serious test for the riders, Stage 19 travels from Le Bourg-d'Oisans to Le Grand-Bornand in an exciting 204.5-kilometer (127-mile) trip through the visually beautiful mountains of the Alps.

The cyclists are in the homestretch of the Tour de France now and will face two more mountain stages in a row. Then it will be the final portion of the race that travels from Versailles to Paris on Sunday.

With a lead on the general classification, Froome looks destined to take the 2013 Tour de France victory.

Stage 18 Standings (courtesy of NBC Sports)

Place	Name	Time	Time Gap	Team
1	Christophe RIBLON	04:51:32	00:00:00	ALM
2	Tejay VAN GARDEREN	04:52:31	00:00:59	BMC
3	Moreno MOSER	04:52:59	00:01:27	CAN
4	Nairo Alexander QUINTANA ROJAS	04:53:44	00:02:12	MOV
5	Joaquim RODRIGUEZ OLIVER	04:53:47	00:02:15	KAT
6	Richie PORTE	04:54:50	00:03:18	SKY
7	Christopher FROOME	04:54:50	00:03:18	SKY
8	Alejandro VALVERDE	04:54:54	00:03:22	MOV
9	Mikel NIEVE ITURRALDE	04:55:47	00:04:15	EUS
10	Jakob FUGLSANG	04:55:47	00:04:15	AST

Overall Standings (courtesy of NBC Sports)

Place	Name	Time	Time Gap	Team	Age
1	Christopher FROOME	71:02:19	00:00:00	SKY	28
2	Alberto CONTADOR	71:07:30	00:05:11	TST	30
3	Nairo Alexander QUINTANA ROJAS	71:07:51	00:05:32	MOV	23
4	Roman KREUZIGER	71:08:03	00:05:44	TST	27
5	Joaquim RODRIGUEZ OLIVER	71:08:17	00:05:58	KAT	34
6	Bauke MOLLEMA	71:11:17	00:08:58	BEL	26
7	Jakob FUGLSANG	71:11:52	00:09:33	AST	28
8	Michael ROGERS	71:16:45	00:14:26	TST	33
9	Michal KWIATKOWSKI	71:16:57	00:14:38	OPQ	23
10	Laurens TEN DAM	71:16:58	00:14:39	BEL	32

 

Full results and standings at NBC Sports.