Pogačar withstands Vingegaard's attacks to keep yellow jersey after Tour's monster mountain stage

COURCHEVEL, France (AP) — Ben O’Connor won Thursday’s monster Alpine stage to the ski resort of Courchevel as three-time Tour de France champion Tadej Pogačar responded to attacks from archrival Jonas Vingegaard and dropped him to cement his grip on the yellow jersey.

With just three stages left before the race ends in Paris, Pogačar looks poised to retain his title, with a comfortable lead of more than four minutes over Vingegaard, a two-time champion.

Stage 18 featured three extremely difficult ascents, including the 26.4-kilometer (16.5-mile) daunting climb of the Col de La Loze up to the finish. At 2,304 meters of altitude, La Loze is the highest summit in this year’s Tour.

Two years ago, Vingegaard dropped Pogačar on that mountain on his way to his second Tour title but could not deal a decisive blow this time.

Riding behind O'Connor, Vingegaard and Pogačar closely watched each other in the final climb, surrounded by buoyant fans braving the cold temperature and the fog. Vingegaard attacked his Slovenian rival but Pogačar responded with ease. Vingegaard and his Visma-Lease a Bike teammates had also tried to hurt the defending champion earlier in the day in the Col de La Madeleine, but their efforts left Pogačar unfazed.

The reigning world champion, who rides for UAE Team Emirates-XRG, never panicked and accelerated near the end to drop Vingegaard in the last 500 meters and increase his overall lead.

Pogačar crossed the finish line 1 minute and 45 seconds behind O'Connor. Vingegaard completed the stage podium, 1:54 off the pace.

“I was a bit scared of this stage, but it turned out to be a beautiful day,” Pogačar said. “This side of the Col de La Loze is easier than the one we did in 2023 — that was much worse. Whenever we climb that side again, I’ll definitely go for the win.”

Ahead of Friday's final mountain stage to La Plagne, Vingegaard lags 4:26 behind Pogačar, with Florian Lipowitz in third place, 11:01 back.

It was O'Connor's second stage win at the Tour, four years after his victory in Tignes. The team Jayco AlUla leader dropped his last breakaway companion, Einer Rubio, with 16 kilometers to go and then held off the return of the main contenders.

“It’s special to do it again here in the Tour de France," O'Connor said. "The last time in Tignes was a complete shock but this time I got to enjoy much more. I had a super day today, I was finally back to being me after struggling for the past 17 days. My knee is absolutely screwed now, it’s really painful. It’s lingering there and it’s not going to stop until the end of the race."

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Ecuador's Jhonatan Narvaez and Britain's Adam Yates, first and second, set the pace for their leader Slovenia's Tadej Pogacar, wearing the overall leader's yellow jersey, during the eighteenth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 171.5 kilometers (106.6 miles) with start in Vif and finish in Courchevel Col de la Loze, France, Thursday, July 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

Britain's Adam Yates sets the pace for his leader Slovenia's Tadej Pogacar, wearing the overall leader's yellow jersey, followed by Denmark's Jonas Vingegaard during the eighteenth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 171.5 kilometers (106.6 miles) with start in Vif and finish in Courchevel Col de la Loze, France, Thursday, July 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

Australia's Ben O'Connor crosses the finish line to win the eighteenth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 171.5 kilometers (106.6 miles) with start in Vif and finish in Courchevel Col de la Loze, France, Thursday, July 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)

Slovenia's Tadej Pogacar, wearing the overall leader's yellow jersey, climbs during the eighteenth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 171.5 kilometers (106.6 miles) with start in Vif and finish in Courchevel Col de la Loze, France, Thursday, July 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

Australia's Ben O'Connor crosses the finish line to win the eighteenth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 171.5 kilometers (106.6 miles) with start in Vif and finish in Courchevel Col de la Loze, France, Thursday, July 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)

Slovenia's Tadej Pogacar, wearing the overall leader's yellow jersey, celebrates on the podium after the eighteenth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 171.5 kilometers (106.6 miles) with start in Vif and finish in Courchevel Col de la Loze, France, Thursday, July 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)

Ecuador's Jhonatan Narvaez and Britain's Adam Yates, first and second, set the pace for their leader Slovenia's Tadej Pogacar, wearing the overall leader's yellow jersey, during the eighteenth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 171.5 kilometers (106.6 miles) with start in Vif and finish in Courchevel Col de la Loze, France, Thursday, July 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

Britain's Adam Yates sets the pace for his leader Slovenia's Tadej Pogacar, wearing the overall leader's yellow jersey, followed by Denmark's Jonas Vingegaard during the eighteenth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 171.5 kilometers (106.6 miles) with start in Vif and finish in Courchevel Col de la Loze, France, Thursday, July 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

Australia's Ben O'Connor crosses the finish line to win the eighteenth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 171.5 kilometers (106.6 miles) with start in Vif and finish in Courchevel Col de la Loze, France, Thursday, July 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)

Slovenia's Tadej Pogacar, wearing the overall leader's yellow jersey, climbs during the eighteenth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 171.5 kilometers (106.6 miles) with start in Vif and finish in Courchevel Col de la Loze, France, Thursday, July 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

Australia's Ben O'Connor crosses the finish line to win the eighteenth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 171.5 kilometers (106.6 miles) with start in Vif and finish in Courchevel Col de la Loze, France, Thursday, July 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Police in Ohio's capital city said Wednesday that they have gathered enough evidence to link a man charged in the double homicide of his ex-wife and her husband in their Columbus home last month to the killings.

Columbus Police Chief Elaine Bryant said in an Associated Press interview that authorities now believe Michael David McKee, 39, a vascular surgeon who was living in Chicago, was the person seen walking down a dark alley near Monique and Spencer Tepe's home in video footage from the night of the murders. His vehicle has also been identified traveling near the house, and a firearm found in his Illinois residence also traced to evidence at the scene, she said.

An attorney representing McKee could not be identified through court listings.

His arrest Saturday capped off nearly two weeks of speculation surrounding the mysterious killings that attracted national attention. No obvious signs of forced entry were found at the Tepes’ home. Police also said no weapon was found there, and murder-suicide was not suspected. Further, nothing was stolen, and the couple’s two young children and their dog were left unharmed in the home.

“What we can tell you is that we have evidence linking the vehicle that he was driving to the crime scene. We also have evidence of him coming and going in that particular vehicle,” Bryant told the AP. “What I can also share with you is that there were multiple firearms taken from the property of McKee, and one of those firearms did match preliminarily from a NIBIN (ballistic) hit back to this actual homicide.”

Bryant said that the department wants the public to keep the tips coming. Investigators were able to follow up on every phone call, email and private tip shared from the community to the department and some of that information allowed them to gather enough evidence to make an arrest, she said.

That work culminated in the apprehension of McKee in Rockford, Illinois, where the hospital where he worked — OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center — has said it is cooperating with the investigation. He has been charged with premeditated aggravated murder in the shooting deaths. Monique Tepe, who divorced McKee in 2017, was 39. Her husband, a dentist whose absence from work that morning prompted the first call to police, was 37.

McKee waived his right to an extradition hearing on Monday during an appearance in the 17th Judicial Circuit Court in Winnebago County, Illinois, where he remains in jail. Bryant said officials are working out details of his return to Ohio, with no exact arrival date set. His next hearing in Winnebago County is scheduled for Jan. 23.

Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther said Wednesday that the city doesn't prioritize high-profile cases any more than others, noting that the city's closure rate on criminal cases exceeds the national average. The city also celebrated in 2025 its lowest level of homicides and violent crime since 2007, Ginther said.

“Every case matters. Ones that receive national attention, and those that don’t,” he told the AP. “Every family deserves closure and for folks to be held accountable, and the rest of the community deserves to be safe when dangerous people are taken off the street.”

Ginther said it is vital for central Ohioans to continue to grieve with the Tepes' family, which includes two young children, and loved ones, as they cope with “such an unimaginable loss.”

“I want our community to wrap our arms around this family and these children for years to come,” he said.

This undated booking photo provided by the Winnebago County Sheriff's Office Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, shows Michael David McKee, who was charged in the killing of his ex-wife, Monique Tepe, and her husband Spencer Tepe at their Columbus, Ohio, home on Dec. 30, 2025. (Winnebago County Sheriff's Office via AP)

Spencer and Monique Tepe's home in Columbus, Ohio, on Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Patrick Aftoora-Orsagos)

This image taken from video shows Michael David McKee walking into the courtroom on Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in Rockford, Ill. (WIFR News/Pool Photo via AP)