STAGE 18 OF 21Thursday 23 July

Voiron → Orcières-Merlette

Mountain185.2 KM3,950 M CLIMBINGAlpsSUMMIT FINISH

The high Alps begin in earnest with a summit finish at the ski resort of Orcières-Merlette, a climb steeped in Tour history. The first of three consecutive Alpine mountain stages that decide the race.

KEY CLIMBS

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Orcières-Merlette

7.1 km · 6.7% avg · 1,850 m summit

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Côte d'Engins

11.4 km · 5.4% avg

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Monteynard

9.7 km · 5% avg

THE TACTICAL READ

WHO IT SUITS

The GC favourites with the strongest teams. The first of three consecutive Alpine days is about who arrives freshest, not who wins the stage.

WHAT TO WATCH

Restraint. A rider who burns too much here pays for it twice before the block ends on Alpe d'Huez. The first cracks of the final week show on the Orcières-Merlette ramp.

ROADMAN PREDICTION

The GC battle resumes with the first Alpine time gaps, but the smartest favourites keep their powder dry. A breakaway could still steal the stage while the leaders measure each other.

THE ROADMAN TAKE

WHAT THIS STAGE DEMANDS

The first of three Alpine days in a row is about managing the whole block, not winning the stage. Recovery between back-to-back mountain stages — sleep, protein, getting the carbs back in fast — is what lets a rider still be there on day three. Train the recovery as seriously as the efforts.

WHAT DAN LORANG WOULD PUSH

Stage-race performance is a recovery problem — refuel within the window, sleep, and the rider can repeat a near-maximal climb three days running instead of fading after one.

TRAIN FOR IT

The Roadman content that builds what Stage 18 asks for.

Bedtime protein recovery protocol→Recovery hub→Cycling after 40 — recovery report→

← STAGE 17

Chambéry → Voiron

STAGE 19 →

Gap → Alpe d'Huez

← ALL 21 STAGES