Richard Carapaz from the EF Education - EasyPost team won Stage 18 of the 113th Tour de France. The Ecuadorian rider broke away from a group of six to take the summit finish in the Alps on Thursday.
Carapaz attacked his teammates less than three kilometers from the finish line, securing his second stage victory in the Tour de France. Mauro Schmid from Switzerland came in second place in this race, ahead of Matteo Jorgenson from America.
Furthermore, Carapaz moved closer to winning the Yellow King of the Mountains jersey, which he won in 2024, by achieving his first stage win. Valentin Pairet-Pentre from France was close to taking the jersey from the race leader Tadej Pogačar, but he finished fourth, trailing by only one spot and one point.
Thanks to this result, Carapaz is now only seven points behind the Slovenian. Tadej Pogačar finished in a group of 13 riders, which included the ten best general classification participants, maintaining his four-and-a-half-minute lead over Olympic champion Remco Evenepoel.
However, after two consecutive races in the Hautes-Alpes on Friday, Pogačar faced difficulties: one of his key teammates, Brandon McNulty, had to leave the race. Another teammate, Adam Yates, experienced digestive issues the next day, and Tim Wellens reported feeling unwell on Thursday morning.
These difficulties were felt at the start of the final 7-kilometer climb, where Pogačar only had two teammates left—Isaac Del Toro and Felix Grossschartner—whereas he would normally have at least two additional helpers on such a stage. Yates missed the cut time by about 10 minutes. Pogačar had previously admitted that Yates suffered from stomach upset, and his condition worsened the day before during the individual stage on Lake Geneva. Yates dropped out of the main group again on Thursday, but significantly later. Wellens also told reporters on Thursday that he was feeling unwell. This race was the first of three decisive Alpine stages that will determine the winner of the Tour de France. Yates and McNulty were important mountain helpers for Pogačar, who is aiming for a fifth victory, matching a record, and leads Remco Evenepoel in the general classification by four and a half minutes.
12h Livre expressed its desire to obtain access to the pilot test.
The draw for the football tournament at the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi and Nagoya has determined the groups and opponents for the men's and women's national teams of Uzbekistan.
The men's national team of Uzbekistan, as part of the U23 squad, has been placed in Group C. Within this group, the team will compete against teams from Vietnam, the Philippines, and Kuwait.
The women's national team of Uzbekistan will participate in Group G. Its opponents will be China, the Philippines, and Hong Kong.
After the completion of the group stage, the teams will continue to fight for tournament medals according to the established competition rules.
The International Federation of Football (FIFA) has completed its analysis of the Uzbekistan national team's performance at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, calling the team's participation a historic debut in the world's premier football tournament.
In its official review, FIFA noted that Uzbekistan's campaign concluded in the group stage. Nevertheless, the country's first appearance at the World Cup marked a significant milestone in the history of its national football team.
The governing body specifically highlighted midfielder Abbozbek Faizullaev, who scored Uzbekistan's first goal at the World Cup against Colombia. Additionally, Eldor Shomurodov's goal against the Democratic Republic of Congo was noted and recognized as the best goal of the group stage based on a poll organized in collaboration with Hyundai.
According to FIFA, the Fabio Cannavaro-managed team maintained its commitment to its style of play throughout the tournament, which is based on technical football and high dedication. The organization also pointed out that the players found it increasingly difficult to maintain a high match tempo as the tournament progressed.
The review also paid special attention to young athletes, including 18-year-old Bekhruz Karimov. FIFA emphasized that participating in the World Cup provided young players with valuable experience in top-level competition, which should contribute to Uzbekistan's further development before the next World Cup in four years.
