Stage 18
Merlier by a wheel
- Thursday 23 May 2024
- 165 km
- 800 m climbed
- Won by Tim Merlier
The road
At the start
A breather on the way to Padova
Georg Steinhauser won alone at the Passo Brocon on his Grand Tour debut; behind him Daniel Martínez holds second at 7:42, Geraint Thomas third at 8:04. The gruppetto reached that summit 44 minutes down. Today is their reward — a flat, gently falling road out of the Dolomites to Padova. Jonathan Milan leads the points classification 284 to Kaden Groves' 175 and needs only to reach Rome, but he wants more than that.
How it was won
- 11 km to go
The break refuses to die
A four-man move dances just ahead of the bunch for half an hour on the wide boulevards into Padova, finally swept up with 10.5km to go as speeds touch 60kph.
- At the line
Merlier by a wheel
Milan erupts late through the middle but leaves it a fraction too long, and Merlier holds on by less than a wheel for his second win of the race.
The result
| Rank | Rider | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tim Merlier | Soudal Quick-Step | 3:45:44 |
| 2 | Jonathan Milan | Lidl - Trek | +0:00 |
| 3 | Kaden Groves | Alpecin - Deceuninck | +0:00 |
The route on real terrain, every moment pinned to the kilometre it happened on — and the GPX to ride it yourself.