Yet another breakaway, a 29-man attempt including two of the Movistar Team Riders - Jonathan Castroviejo, 8th in Pra Loup yesterday and featuring again at the front today as well as helping out the leaders, and Winner Anacona, superb on the climbs yet ultimately 3rd behind a superior Romain Bardet (ALM) and a late attack from Pierre Rolland (EUC) - took the honours on stage 18 of the 2015 Tour de France. Today's 186.5km journey, with seven climbs including the Glandon (HC) and the Lacets de Montvernier (Cat-2) before Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne's finish, saw Nairo Quintana and Alejandro Valverde extending their presence on the provisional GC podium for one more day as 2nd and 3rd overall.

Two short-lived moves from the Spaniard and the Colombian and bigger attacks from Nibali (AST) and Contador (TCS) caused Valverde, always helping Quintana out, to briefly drop back before the summit of the Glandon. He used his downhill abilities to bridge back and stay in the GC podium positions before the two Blue references tackle the showdown of the Grande Boucle on Friday and Saturday, on short routes with long, steep climbs. Stage 19, only 138km, will feature the Chaussy (Cat-1) right from the start; Croix de Fer (HC) and Mollard (Cat-2) together near the end; and the long La Toussuire (Cat-1) as mountain-top finish.

“It was an extremely difficult today, full of ups and downs and covered at full speed from the very start," manager Eusebio Unzue said. "When Nibali attacked in the final kilometer of the Col du Glandon and took like 50, 60 meters' advantage, we told Alejandro to close the gap, which he did, yet he ended up struggling a bit. Fortunately, he took some air, recovered and, as he knew he was almost at the summit, he kept in mind he would make up the gap.

"Bardet really upped the ante with another descent in Dauphiné and did the same today, excellent intthe downhill and keeping the margins on the final climb. It's awful that Winner couldn't take it, since he was really strong and in good position to contest the win - we also kept him as a safety bet in case either Nairo or Alejandro needed his services behind, but it wasn't needed.

"Apart from that, Froome didn't make any mistakes today, just as during the rest of the Tour, where he hasn't cracked or committed errors on the descents. He's always controlled his rivals well, and we can only hope that the wear and tear of these stages has a bigger impact on him during the weekend and we can profit from that - yet, he's a well-deserved GC leader.”

“I had to close a couple of gaps and was suffering from a bit of flatus, so I had to reduce my speed for a bit and take some air - I knew I would be back in the group after the downhill," Valverde said. "I crested the summit really close to them, about 10" down, got back to the group and everyone could see that everything was alright afterwards, it didn't get any further.

"It was a really demanding day and we got through it safely; there are two really important days still left, short stages yet enormously demanding, and I hope to recover well. We came here to fight for victory with Nairo and if I make the GC podium, it will be fantastic, but I have a clear role and goal and I'll follow it until the end.”

“Alejandro suffered sort of a small crisis there and we had to ride more cautiously so we could get him back to the group and let him recover," Quintana said. "We hope tomorrow's stage will be a good one for us; the mountains remaining in this Tour are different and we had to remain a bit more calm today, because no real differences could be made at the finish considering the final profile. It's really important for me to have Alejandro close - he always helps me out, closes the gaps and does everything. We'll play our cards differently tomorrow.

"I still believe I can win the Tour. I feel good and my desire to win is enormous. I've got two opportunities left. Tomorrow and after tomorrow we'll try and create the gaps we haven't made today. La Toussuire is a nice finish but I prefer l'Alpe d'Huez: the more people the better.

"Today when Nibali accelerated, Valverde wasn't at his best, that's why I eased up. With all the climbs we've already done, Chris Froome might as well pay the price for his efforts. Me too! But I hope it won't be the case. There's no plan or secret strategy."