Greig Leach

Stage 18 of the Tour de France started innocently enough with just two small climbs in the first half of the stage. The Astana led peloton let a rather large break away get off of the front, none within a half hour of Vincenzo Nibali's Maillot Jaune. It would normally be safe to assume that Astana would sit back and let the race unfold, but there has been nothing normal about Nibali's desire to remove any doubt that he is the rightful wearer of the Jersey, regardless of who is in and who is out of the 101st Tour de France. He had told the press that he wanted to win another stage in Yellow, to show honor to the Jersey and the Tour. He doesn't expect to do well in the only Time Trial on Stage 20, and won't be anywhere near the first guy across the line on tomorrow's flat stage or on the cobbles of the Champs Elysees in the shadow of the L'Arc de Triomphe.