Vincenzo Nibali of Italy won Stage 18 of the 2014 Tour de France on Thursday morning, and he now holds an overall advantage of more than seven minutes as the race winds down toward Paris.
Tour de France 2014 results and standings, Stage 18: Vincenzo Nibali wins again
The Italian appears well on his way to a Tour victory after another great performance on Thursday.
Bryn Lennon
Nibali is the top racer for the Astana team and showed why on Thursday, climbing the mountains with ease toward the end of the stage to pull away from would-be competition. Thibaut Pinot of France is now second overall after finishing behind Nibali in the stage. Third overall is Jean-Christian Peraud, and Rafal Majka leads the King of the Mountains.
The stage began in the city of Pau and ran through the towns of Cote de Benejacq, Cote de Loucrup, Trebons, Col du Tourmalet before finishing in Hautacam. On Friday, the race will see a longer stage, covering 208.5 km. The riders will start off in Maubourguet Pays du Val d’Adour before finishing in Bergerac.
Stage standings:
| Rider | Time |
| Vincenzo Nibali | 4hr, 04min, 17 sec |
| Thibaut Pinot | +1 min, 10 sec |
| Rafal Majka | +1 min, 12 sec |
| Jean-Christophe Peraud | +1 min, 15 sec |
| Tejay van Garderen | +1 min, 15 sec |
| Romain Bardet | +1 min, 53 sec |
| Bauke Mollema | +1 min, 57 sec |
| Leopold Koenig | +1 min, 57 sec |
| Haimar Zubeldia | +1 min, 59 sec |
Overall standings:
| Rider | Time |
| Vincenzo Nibali | 80h, 45 min, 45 sec |
| Thibaut Pinot | +7min, 10 sec |
| Jean-Christophe Peraud | +7 min, 23 sec |
| Alejandro Valverde | +7 min, 25 sec |
| Romain Bardet | +9 min, 27 sec |
| Tejay van Garderen | +11 min, 34 sec |
| Bauke Mollema | +13 min, 56 sec |
| Laurens ten Dam | +14 min, 15 sec |
| Leopold Koenig | +14 min, 37 sec |
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