Kwiatkowski sprints to third at The Tour

Michał Kwiatkowski sprinted to third place on stage 18 of the Tour de France, after a combative and active display from the day’s breakaway. 

The stage would once again be ridden at a fierce pace, with Geraint Thomas and Kwiato ably placing themselves in a move of nearly forty riders that would quickly establish a large gap of the peloton. 

The early stages would see G active in marking moves, ensuring no one got up the road without a Grenadier present. 

With 62 kilometres to go, Kwiatkowski would launch the first of his attacks to thin the group, before attacking again with 40 kilometres remaining. 

The Pole would eventually see himself in a group of three with a 15 second lead on the chasing group. With strong rotation between the trio, the gap would quickly expand to 45 seconds, ahead of the final kilometres.

Under the Flamme Rouge and the two-time Tour stage winner would shut down an attack from breakaway companion Mattéo Vercher (TotalEnergies), before leading out the sprint, eventually finishing in third on the day.

In the overall standings, all of the GC contenders would come home on the same time ahead of a couple of tough mountain stages.