Tadej Pogačar extended his Tour de France lead after dominating the Alpe d’Huez ascent, clocking a 35:27 ride to claim the stage victory and widen his advantage over Remco Evenepoel to more than seven minutes. He launched his move with about 12km to go, catching Richard Carapaz and Lenny Martinez before pulling away in the final 800 metres. Evenepoel remained just ahead of the rest of the GC group, while Martinez moved up to fifth and Mattias Skjelmose closed in on the pack ahead of the penultimate stages. Earlier, Richard Carapaz had already won stage 18 from a breakaway at Orcières-Merlette, dedicating the triumph to his late mother as Pogacar’s team faced illness and other disruptions, including Brandon McNulty’s withdrawal and reports of a sore throat among UAE team members. Stage 17 delivered Jasper Philipsen’s first Tour stage win of the year in a sprint finish controlled by Mathieu van der Poel, with Pogačar protecting his yellow jersey but Yates faltering in the final kilometres. The race’s narrative this week has woven climbing records with team health concerns and tactical battles as the event heads toward Paris.