The 18th stage of the Tour de France passed through the Alps from Gap to Saint Jean de Maurienne. The 186.5 kilometers included eight categorized climbs, including the Col du Glandon – a mountain of the Hors Categorie. Already in the first kilometers, 29 riders were able to go clear, including Bora-Argon 18 rider Jan Barta again.

Before the climb of the Col du Glandon there were many attacks to which Barta always responded attentively. Further into the ascent, the climbers of the group could separate themselves from the rest, Barta had to let them go and was also passed by the favorites from the peloton.

Here the entire group splintered into many small groups that failed to come together in the downhill and on the last short climb. Romain Bardet (AG2R), who could break away from the leading group on the Glandon, secured the day's victory as a soloist with a small advantage.

"The race was tough right from the start today because the mountain classification was already in the first few kilometers. Then, the large group formed with Jan and rode away up to five minutes, before some teams have taken control. On the long climb to the Glandon, Jan lost his energy and so it was impossible to ride for a better result. Emanuel [Buchmann] didn’t have the legs to try something and after a mechanical we had to change his bike on the climb. The other riders were trying to save their strength for the coming difficult stages", comments Enrico Poitschke, Sports Director of Bora-Argon 18.