Carapaz wins stage 18 of the Tour de France with a late breakaway, Pogacar keeps overall lead

ORCIERES-MERLETTE, France (AP) — Ecuadorian rider Richard Carapaz timed his attack perfectly in the final climb to win the 18th stage of the Tour de France on Thursday, while Tadej Pogacar finished a few minutes behind and maintained his significant overall lead.

It was the 33-year-old Carapaz’s first stage win at this year’s race and second overall. He was not chased down by Pogacar because he is not considered a threat to win the Tour, and is in 10th spot.

“This is a wonderful victory,” Carapaz said. “I dedicate it to my family.”

After moving ahead about 3 kilometers (2 miles) from the summit, Carapaz raced clear. He patted each side of his head as he approached the finish line, and was 45 seconds ahead of Swiss rider Mauro Schmid and American Matteo Jorgenson.

“It’s been a special day. It took a lot of hard work,” said Carapaz, who failed to win with a similar breakaway earlier in this year’s race. “This is the most rewarding thing for me, knowing that the work I put in has paid off.”

Pogacar is chasing a third straight Tour title and fifth overall. The Slovenian star rolled over the line in a large group containing his closest rival Remco Evenepoel and Pogacar’s UAE Emirates XRG teammate Isaac Del Toro.

There was no change overall as Pogacar maintained his lead of 4 minutes, 32 seconds over the Belgian time trial star Evenepoel, the winner of two stages at this year's race, and 6:51 over the 22-year-old Mexican Del Toro in third overall.

Thursday's stage was the first of three straight days of Alpine climbs.

The 185-kilometer (115-mile) trek featured an early Category 1 climb — the second-hardest category — up Côte d'Engins, before ending with a Cat. 1 ascent to the Orcières-Merlette ski station.

After going over Engins, Jorgenson was in a small group at the front. They were then joined by Carapaz with Pogacar's yellow jersey group clearly hanging back.

“I think nobody would really commit,” said Pogacar, who has won four stages at this year's race.

Carapaz's stage could have ended when he had a near miss with a fan stood in the road, just swerving around him in time.

Heading into the final climb up Orcières-Merlette, Jorgenson and Schmid could not respond when Carapaz, who won the 2019 Giro d’Italia, attacked.

“This final climb was tough and suited my strengths well,” said Carapaz, whose other Tour stage win came in 2024. “This was a hard-fought victory, but just as tough as the first one. It gets harder every year to win here.”

Friday's 19th stage ends with a HC climb (the hardest category) up L'Alpe d’Huez, an iconic Tour climb and among the most famed in cycling.

Saturday's 20th and penultimate stage is brutal and could be epic. It features three HC climbs — Col de la Croix de Fer, Col du Galibier and Col de Sarenne — and one Cat. 1 climb up Col du Télégraphe, before a hilly finish to L'Alpe d'Huez.

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Slovenia's Tadej Pogacar, wearing the overall leader's yellow jersey, rides in the pack during the eighteenth stage of the Tour de France cycling race, with start in Voiron and finish in Orcieres-Merlette, France, Thursday, July 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

Slovenia's Tadej Pogacar, wearing the overall leader's yellow jersey crosses the finish line of the eighteenth stage of the Tour de France cycling race, with start in Voiron and finish in Orcieres-Merlette, France, Thursday, July 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)

Ecuador's Richard Carapaz celebrates as he crosses the finish line to win the eighteenth stage of the Tour de France cycling race, with start in Voiron and finish in Orcieres-Merlette, France, Thursday, July 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)

Ecuador's Richard Carapaz celebrates as he crosses the finish line to win the eighteenth stage of the Tour de France cycling race, with start in Voiron and finish in Orcieres-Merlette, France, Thursday, July 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)

Ecuador's Richard Carapaz celebrates as he crosses the finish line to win the eighteenth stage of the Tour de France cycling race, with start in Voiron and finish in Orcieres-Merlette, France, Thursday, July 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Spain’s government declared a national emergency Friday after wildfires forced the evacuation of some 10,000 people in the central region of Madrid, while in southern France tens of thousands fled their homes to escape two major blazes.

The national emergency in Spain means that the nation’s interior ministry, which controls police and security forces, has taken charge of overseeing the firefighting efforts by Spain’s regions as they struggle to battle multiple blazes that are being fanned by a heatwave.

The regional government of Madrid, which spans a wide area around the capital city, said 10,000 people had been evacuated from different villages as multiple fires raged out of control late on Thursday.

Spain has seen an estimated 1,300 square kilometers (500 square miles) already burned this year, over four times the amount of terrain that was burned through the first half of 2025.

This year's fires include Spain's second-largest ever fire that consumed some 320 square kilometers (120 square miles) in recent days in the province of Guadalajara north of Madrid. Thirteen people were also killed in a fire in southern Spain earlier this month, the deadliest fire in recent memory for Spain.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez on Wednesday called for a pact between political parties to fight climate change that he said is key to adapting to a more fire-prone climate.

Temperatures are expected to top 39 degrees Celsius (102 Fahrenheit) in parts of southeastern Spain, including a high of 44 C (111 F).

Authorities in southwestern France on Friday ordered more mass evacuations on the Atlantic coast because of large wildfires. An estimated 40,000 people have been driven from their homes over the past two days in the region.

More than 87 square kilometers (34 square miles) have been burned by the blaze that has been raging since Wednesday near the touristic Cap Ferret peninsula. Some people were forced to flee by boat.

France requested the activation of the European Union’s Civil Protection Mechanism.

“We will soon be able to rely on reinforcements including two Croatian Canadair firefighting aircraft, two Portuguese Air Tractor aircraft, and two heavy-lift Black Hawk helicopters from the Czech Republic and Slovakia,” French President Emmanuel Macron said.

Southern Europe has seen multiple large fires this summer. Europe is the world’s fastest-warming continent, with temperatures increasing twice as quickly as the global average since the 1980s, according to the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service.

Globally, 2025 was the third-hottest year on record, bringing severe heat waves across Europe. Scientists warn that climate change is exacerbating the frequency and intensity of heat and dryness especially in southeastern Europe, making the region more vulnerable to health impacts and wildfires.

Petrequin reported from Paris.

A burning barn is seen next to a farm house during wildfires near Le Porge, western France, Thursday, July 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Caroline Blumberg)

Wildfires advance near Le Proge region, western France, Thursday, July 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Caroline Blumberg)

A wall of flames advances as a wildfire burns near Burgohondo, in Ávila province, Spain, Thursday, July 23, 2026. (Mateo Lanzuela/Europa Press via AP)

Residents spend the night at a sports center after being evacuated from their homes because of the threat of a wildfire in Cebreros, Ávila province, Spain, Friday, July 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Residents spend the night at a sports center after being evacuated from their homes because of the threat of a wildfire in Cebreros, Ávila province, Spain, Friday, July 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Residents spend the night at a sports center after being evacuated from their homes because of the threat of a wildfire in Cebreros, Ávila province, Spain, Friday, July 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)