Michal Kwiatkowski, the unsung hero of Team Ineos during their dominant years, has claimed his maiden Tour de France victory, winning the 18th stage, as Primoz Roglic took a step closer to the title.
Poland's Kwiatkowski and Ineos teammate Richard Carapaz crossed the line together, after a grueling mountain stage from Méribel to La Roche-sur-Foron.
The victory is a sweet reward for Kwiatkowski, whose role as a domestique on the Tour has helped Chris Froome, Geraint Thomas and Egan Bernal win Tour de France titles since 2016.
"I'm going to celebrate big time tonight," says Kwiatkowski. "I've had some nice moments in cycling, but that was something new.
"I had goosebumps for the final kilometres, because I knew we were going to make it - it was incredible."
Roglic retained the overall leader's yellow jersey after the last mountain stage, as he controlled closest rival and fellow Slovenian Tadej Pogacar.
Pogacar lags 57 seconds behind, with Colombian Miguel Angel Lopez in third place, 1m 26s off the pace.
Kiwi George Bennett is 31st in the overall standings, 2h behind Jumbo-Visma teammate Roglic, while Jack Bauer is 84th.
The 19th stage is a 166.5-km undulating ride between Bourg en Bresse and Champagnole.
Reuters
