A flurry of numbers, statistics, and points of reflection from the eighteenth stage of the Tour de France.

4: O'CONNOR LIKE VAN DER POEL AND MERLIER
Mathieu Van der Poel, Tim Merlier, and Ben O'Connor now have something in common. All three won their first Tour stage in 2021, then had to wait 4 years before winning again. After the Dutchman and the Belgian a few days ago, the Australian raised his arms in victory. He had previously won in Tignes 4 years and 20 days ago.

4/5: FROM SPRINTERS TO CLIMBERS
Since Caleb Ewan won 5 sprints at the Tour in 2019/2020, Australians have won 4 of their 5 mountain stage victories: Ben O'Connor in Tignes in 2021, Col de la Loze in 2025; Michael Matthews in Mende in 2022; Jai Hindley in Laruns, 2023. The exception is Simon Clarke winning the stage on the pavé in Arenberg, 2022.

9: POGACAR ALWAYS AHEAD OF VINGEGAARD
Since his victory in Le Lioran last year, Jonas Vingegaard has no longer beaten Tadej Pogacar in the mountains. The Slovenian has preceded the Dane in the last 9 mountain stages, often arriving just one position ahead of his rival (8 out of 9 times).

22: YOUNG RIDERS, WHAT A BATTLE!
Florian Lipowitz saved the white jersey, but Oscar Onley is just 22 seconds behind. This is the first time the young riders' classification has been this tight after 18 stages since the 2006 Tour, 19 years ago! At the time, Damiano Cunego and Markus Fothen were separated by 5 seconds.

750: THE END OF THE AUSTRALIAN DROUGHT
The 2024 Tour was the first without an Australian victory since 2018; this won't be the case in 2025. Ben O'Connor secured the 39th Australian victory, the first since Jai Hindley's win in Laruns in 2023, 750 days ago. The Australian drought hadn't been this long since the 1,080 days between the stages in Prato Nevoso 2008 (Simon Gerrans) and Mûr-de-Bretagne 2011 (Cadel Evans).

22: SPAIN LOSES TWO OUTSIDERS
Carlos Rodríguez and Enric Mas, 10th and 18th in the general classification the day before yesterday, have retired. The first was not at the start, the second stopped during the stage. The best-placed Spaniard is now Cristian Rodríguez, in 22nd place. A Tour without a Spaniard in the top 20? That would be an absolute novelty in the 21st century.

23: POGACAR LIKE HINAULT
Tadej Pogacar maintains the polka dot jersey thanks to two second places at Col de la Madeleine and Col de la Loze. This is his 23rd jersey, on par with Bernard Hinault, with whom he is sixth among riders with the most polka dot jerseys. He will reach Lucho Herrera (5th, 26 times) if he keeps it until the end.

151: THE MOST EXTENSIVE COLLECTION
Tadej Pogacar now has 151 distinctive Tour jerseys (51 yellow jerseys, 2 green jerseys, 23 polka dot jerseys, 75 white jerseys). The Slovenian is the first to reach 150 jerseys. Among his contemporaries, he leads Peter Sagan with 148 jerseys (4 yellow jerseys, 130 green jerseys, 14 white jerseys).

5,450: THE REALM OF CLIMBERS
The 5,450 meters of positive elevation gain covered yesterday represent the highest total for a Tour 2025 stage! This is due to the three HC climbs (Col du Glandon, Col de la Madeleine, and Col de la Loze). This is the fourteenth time a stage includes three HC climbs, the highest number ever reached. The last time was in the 12th stage of the 2022 Tour between Briançon and L'Alpe d'Huez.

2,304: HIGHER THAN HIS NATIONAL PEAK
The Col de la Loze is at 2,304 meters, and never before had an Australian won so high at the Tour. Ben O'Connor also triumphed at an altitude higher than his country's highest peak, Mount Kosciuszko (2,228 meters). This is only the second time an Australian has won over 2,000 meters... and the previous time was O'Connor's first victory in Tignes in 2021 (2,089 meters)!