Five talking points from stage 18 of the Tour de France 2019

The first day in the Alps didn't disappoint

Alaphilippe struggles but retain jersey

Julian Alaphilippe among the GC group on stage 18 of the 2019 Tour de France (Sunada)
(Image credit: Yuzuru SUNADA)

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Stephen Puddicombe is a freelance journalist for Cycling Weekly, who regularly contributes to our World Tour racing coverage with race reports, news stories, interviews and features. Outside of cycling, he also enjoys writing about film and TV - but you won't find much of that content embedded into his CW articles.