Tour de France 2015: Stage 18 Results, General Classification and Highlights

AG2R La Mondiale's Romain Bardet won Stage 18 of the 2015 Tour de France on Thursday, attacking with 39 kilometres to go and holding his lead for the remainder of the race.  

Cycling journalist Mikkel Conde was full of praise for the way Bardet handled the descents in the latter stages of the route:

The Tour's official Twitter feed shared the results of the stage:

Here are the current standings following the stage:

Rank	Rider	Team	Times	Gap
1.	(GBR) FROOME Christopher	TEAM SKY	74h 13' 31''
2.	(COL) QUINTANA ROJAS Nairo Alexander	MOVISTAR TEAM	74h 16' 41''	+ 03' 10''
3.	(ESP) VALVERDE BELMONTE Alejandro	MOVISTAR TEAM	74h 17' 40''	+ 04' 09''
4.	(GBR) THOMAS Geraint	TEAM SKY	74h 20' 05''	+ 06' 34''
5.	(ESP) CONTADOR Alberto	TINKOFF-SAXO	74h 20' 11''	+ 06' 40''
6.	(NED) GESINK Robert	TEAM LOTTO NL-JUMBO	74h 21' 10''	+ 07' 39''
7.	(ITA) NIBALI Vincenzo	ASTANA PRO TEAM	74h 21' 35''	+ 08' 04''
8.	(SUI) FRANK Mathias	IAM CYCLING	74h 22' 18''	+ 08' 47''
9.	(NED) MOLLEMA Bauke	TREK FACTORY RACING	74h 25' 37''	+ 12' 06''
10.	(FRA) BARDET Romain	AG2R LA MONDIALE	74h 26' 23''	+ 12' 52''

Rank	Rider	Team	Points
1.	(ESP) RODRIGUEZ OLIVER Joachim	TEAM KATUSHA	68 pts
2.	(FRA) BARDET Romain	AG2R LA MONDIALE	68 pts
3.	(DEN) FUGLSANG Jakob	ASTANA PRO TEAM	64 pts
4.	(GBR) FROOME Christopher	TEAM SKY	61 pts
5.	(BEL) PAUWELS Serge	MTN-QHUBEKA	55 pts
6.	(AUS) PORTE Richie	TEAM SKY	40 pts
7.	(POL) MAJKA Rafal	TINKOFF-SAXO	34 pts
8.	(COL) QUINTANA ROJAS Nairo Alexander	MOVISTAR TEAM	32 pts
9.	(ESP) VALVERDE BELMONTE Alejandro	MOVISTAR TEAM	32 pts
10.	(NED) GESINK Robert	TEAM LOTTO NL-JUMBO	28 pts

Rank	Team	Team	Points
1.	(SVK) SAGAN Peter	TINKOFF-SAXO	420 pts
2.	(GER) GREIPEL André	LOTTO-SOUDAL	316 pts
3.	(GER) DEGENKOLB John	TEAM GIANT-ALPECIN	281 pts
4.	(GBR) CAVENDISH Mark	ETIXX-QUICK STEP	192 pts
5.	(FRA) COQUARD Bryan	TEAM EUROPCAR	122 pts
6.	(GBR) FROOME Christopher	TEAM SKY	113 pts
7.	(BEL) DE GENDT Thomas	LOTTO-SOUDAL	85 pts
8.	(ESP) VALVERDE BELMONTE Alejandro	MOVISTAR TEAM	80 pts
9.	(CZE) STYBAR Zdenek	ETIXX-QUICK STEP	78 pts
10.	(FRA) GALLOPIN Tony	LOTTO-SOUDAL	76 pts

Pierre Rolland, Julian Arredondo and Joaquim Rodriguez got off the mark the quickest from Gap, establishing a 35-second lead in the first three kilometres.

Rodriguez led the group as they reached Col Bayard, but they were swiftly caught by 16 more riders, including Thibaut Pinot and Dan Martin.

A further 10 riders joined their ranks as the 29 cyclists extended their lead on the peloton, but notably there were no Team Sky representatives.

The Tour's official Twitter feed highlighted the positive starters:

By the time the riders reached Rampe du Motty, the lead had more than doubled as it approached four minutes.

Rodriguez, who wore the polka-dot jersey in lieu of Froome, who bore the yellow, lived up to the colours as he led the break over the Rampe du Motty to edge closer to the Englishman on the king of the mountains classification.

The gap eventually reached a full five minutes, meaning that Bardet and Andrew Talansky temporarily found themselves in the top 10 in the general classification:

BMC's Rohan Dennis launched a short-lived attack from the front ahead of the Cote de la Mure, but he was quickly swallowed up as Rodriguez earned two more points to pull level with Froome in the mountain classification.

The Spaniard briefly formed a six-strong breakaway alongside Jakob Fuglsang, Thomas De Gendt, Serge Pauwels, Thomas Voeckler and Stef Clement, but the group could not establish a significant lead and soon became 29 once again.

Rodriguez again showed great determination at the Col de Malissol and Col de la Morte climbs, claiming maximum points to move seven ahead of Froome.

As the group approached the intermediate sprint, De Gendt took the initiative and accelerated from the front, taking maximum points and continuing his attack alone as the breakaway group temporarily split into three.

Letourdata captured the results of the sprint:

As Eurosport's live blog of the event noted, De Gendt's attempt to secure a stage win from distance was reminiscent of his efforts in the Giro d'Italia three years ago. However, the Belgian soon found himself pegged back at the foot of the Col du Glandon.

The gruelling climb began to take its toll on a number of riders, as Simon Yates, De Gendt, Arredondo and Pinot all found themselves dropped by the breakaway and caught by the chasing peloton.

Fuglsang fell victim to a crash with 41 kilometres to go. As Eurosport noted, the Dane swung across to the left-hand side of the road, where he clipped an oncoming motorcycle.

Fortunately, Fuglsang appeared unhurt and was back on the road shortly after.

At the head of the group, Bardet claimed the mountain points ahead of Winner Anacona.

From there, the Frenchman pushed on from the pack, opening a lead of close to 40 seconds as he reached the final 20 kilometres ahead of an eight-strong pack that included Fuglsang, Rolland and Anacona.

Bardet entered the final climb, the Lacets de Montvernier, alone. Behind him, Bob Jungels led the chasing pack alongside Anacona, Rolland and Cyril Gautier.

Back in the yellow-jersey pack at the head of the peloton, Froome, Alberto Contador, Vincenzo Nibali and Nairo Quintana found themselves evenly placed. Nibali was the one to push forward, but his rivals remained hot on his wheels.

Unopposed, Bardet took the final mountain points to draw level with Rodriguez and continued his assault on the finish line.

With five kilometres to go, Rolland set off alone to pursue his compatriot, but from that point on the stage was Bardet's to lose.

The Tour's official Twitter feed captured the moment:

The yellow-jersey contenders all finished together after failing to gain an edge over their rivals, meaning it's all still to ride for as the conclusion of the Tour approaches.

Stage 19 will see the riders take on four more difficult climbs, including two in the final 50 kilometres. Froome will remain the favourite to win overall, but after the honours-even affair on Thursday, there's still plenty of scope for the likes of Contador and Quintana to have a big impact on the proceedings.