Tour de France: Sandy Casar wins stage 18
{{date|July 27, 2007}}__noTOC__
{{Tour de France 2007}}[[Image:Sandy Casar.jpg|thumb|left|180px|Sandy Casar in the [[w:2007 Tour de Romandie|2007 Tour de Romandie]]. {{Image source|[[Commons:User:Ludo29|Ludo]]}}]]
[[w:Sandy Casar|Sandy Casar]] of [[France]] has won stage 18 of the [[w:2007 Tour de France|2007 Tour de France]] in a time of 5h 13' 31". [[w:Axel Merckx|Axel Merckx]] came in second.

Sandy Casar, Alex Merckx, [[w:Laurent Lefevre|Laurent Lefevre]], and [[w:Michael Boogerd|Michael Boogerd]] took control of the stage with a break-away that gave them a 10-minute lead on the [[w:peleton|peleton]].

[[w:Alberto Contador|Alberto Contador]] of [[Spain]], who finished with the peleton keeps the [[w:Yellow jersey|yellow jersey]]. This 211 [[w:Kilometre|km]] long stage, with a few small climbs near the start, was considered by many as the last chance for any surprises.

[[w:Cadel Evans|Cadel Evans]] of [[Australia]], who is second overall, shaved off 3 seconds of the advantage that Contador holds over him, by finishing in a smaller group that finished just ahead of the peleton.

"I hope I don't lose because of three seconds," said Contador. "This yellow jersey is very important. It's important that I have it tonight. I'm not a time-trial specialist but I'll do all I can not to lose one minute, 50 seconds."

Tomorrow's stage is the second time trial stage, with long straight stretches, some beautiful sections of unbending road, some slight inclines and again favours the soloists. It is 55.5 km long and runs from [[w:Cognac|Cognac]] to [[w:Angoulême|Angoulême]]. Sunday, will be the grand finale, as the race enters Paris to complete the eight laps of the [[w:Champs-Élysées stage in Tour de France|traditional circuit]] around the [[w:Champs-Élysées|Champs-Élysées]].

Meanwhile, former yellow jersey leader, [[w:Michael Rasmussen|Michael Rasmussen]], insists that he did not lie about his whereabouts. "I feel I've won the Tour de France... but victory has been stolen from me." He also said that he will not retire, but continue his career.

==Stage 18 result==

{| class="wikitable"
!Rank!!Rider!!Team!!Time
|-
|'''1'''
|'''[[w:Sandy Casar|Sandy Casar]]'''
|'''[[w:Française des Jeux|Française des Jeux]]'''
|align=right|    '''5h 13'31"'''
|-
|2
|[[w:Axel Merckx|Axel Merckx]]
|[[w:T-Mobile Team|T-Mobile Team]]
|align=right| +01"
|-
|3
|[[w:Laurent Lefevre|Laurent Lefevre]]
|[[w:AG2R Prévoyance|AG2R Prévoyance]]
|align=right| s.t."
|-
|4 
|[[w:Michael Boogerd|Michael Boogerd]]
|[[w:Rabobank (cycling)|Rabobank]]
|align=right| s.t."
|-bgcolor=limegreen
|5
|[[w:Tom Boonen|Tom Boonen]]
|[[w:Quick Step-Innergetic|Quick Step-Innergetic]]
|align=right| +8'34"
|-
|6
|[[w:Robert Hunter (cyclist)|Robert Hunter]]
|[[w:Barloworld|Barloworld]]
|align=right| s.t."
|-
|7
|[[w:Erik Zabel|Erik Zabel]]
|[[w:Team Milram|Team Milram]]
|align=right| s.t."
|-
|8 
|[[w:Sébastien Chavanel|Sébastien Chavanel]]
|[[w:Française des Jeux|Française des Jeux]]
|align=right| s.t."
|-
|9
|[[w:Bernhard Eisel|Bernhard Eisel]]
|[[w:T-Mobile Team|T-Mobile Team]]
|align=right| s.t."
|-
|10
|[[w:Thor Hushovd|Thor Hushovd]]
|[[w:Crédit Agricole|Crédit Agricole]]
|align=right| s.t."
|}

==[[w:Yellow jersey|General classification]] after stage 18==

{| class="wikitable"
!Rank!!Rider!!Team!!Time
|- bgcolor=yellow
|'''1'''
|'''[[w:Alberto Contador|Alberto Contador]]'''
|'''[[w:Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team|Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team]]'''
|align=right|    '''86h 04' 16"'''
|- 
|2
|[[w:Cadel Evans|Cadel Evans]]
|[[w:Predictor-Lotto|Predictor-Lotto]]
|align=right| +1' 50"
|-
|3
|[[w:Levi Leipheimer|Levi Leipheimer]]
|[[w:Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team|Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team]]
|align=right| +2' 49"
|-
|4
|[[w:Carlos Sastre|Carlos Sastre]]
|[[w:Team CSC|Team CSC]]
|align=right| +6' 02"
|-
|5
|[[w:Haimar Zubeldia|Haimar Zubeldia]]
|[[w:Euskaltel-Euskadi|Euskaltel-Euskadi]]
|align=right| +6' 29"
|-
|6
|[[w:Alejandro Valverde|Alejandro Valverde]]
|[[w:Caisse d'Epargne|Caisse d'Epargne]]
|align=right| +10' 18"
|-
|7
|[[w:Kim Kirchen|Kim Kirchen]]
|[[w:T-Mobile Team|T-Mobile Team]]
|align=right| +11' 36"
|-
|8
|[[w:Yaroslav Popovych|Yaroslav Popovych]]
|[[w:Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team|Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team]]
|align=right| +12' 47"
|-bgcolor=pink 
|9
|[[w:Mauricio Soler|Mauricio Soler]]
|[[w:Barloworld|Barloworld]]
|align=right| +13' 31"
|-
|10
|[[w:Mikel Astarloza|Mikel Astarloza]]
|[[w:Euskaltel-Euskadi|Euskaltel-Euskadi]]
|align=right| +13' 42"
|}

==Sources==
*{{source|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/other_sports/cycling/6919670.stm
|title=Casar sprints to stage 18 victory
|author=
|pub=BBC Sport
|date=July 27, 2007}}
*{{source|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/other_sports/cycling/6919019.stm
|title=Defiant Rasmussen vows to ride on 
|author=
|pub=BBC Sport
|date=July 27, 2007}}
*{{source|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/other_sports/cycling/6917073.stm
|title=Stage eighteen - as it happened
|author=Andrew McKenzie
|pub=BBC Sport
|date=July 27, 2007}}
*{{source|url=http://www.letour.fr/2007/TDF/LIVE/us/1800/index.html
|title=stage 18 - Cahors - Angoulême 211 km
|author=
|pub=Tour de France
|date=July 26, 2007}}

{{publish}}
{{archived}}

[[Category:Sports]]
[[Category:Cycling]]
[[Category:2007 Tour de France]]
[[Category:Europe]]
[[Category:France]]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sandy Casar wins stage 18}}
__noTOC__
2007 Tour de Romandie. 
Sandy Casar of France has won stage 18 of the 2007 Tour de France in a time of 5h 13' 31". Axel Merckx came in second.

Sandy Casar, Alex Merckx, Laurent Lefevre, and Michael Boogerd took control of the stage with a break-away that gave them a 10-minute lead on the peleton.

Alberto Contador of Spain, who finished with the peleton keeps the yellow jersey. This 211 km long stage, with a few small climbs near the start, was considered by many as the last chance for any surprises.

Cadel Evans of Australia, who is second overall, shaved off 3 seconds of the advantage that Contador holds over him, by finishing in a smaller group that finished just ahead of the peleton.

"I hope I don't lose because of three seconds," said Contador. "This yellow jersey is very important. It's important that I have it tonight. I'm not a time-trial specialist but I'll do all I can not to lose one minute, 50 seconds."

Tomorrow's stage is the second time trial stage, with long straight stretches, some beautiful sections of unbending road, some slight inclines and again favours the soloists. It is 55.5 km long and runs from Cognac to Angoulême. Sunday, will be the grand finale, as the race enters Paris to complete the eight laps of the traditional circuit around the Champs-Élysées.

Meanwhile, former yellow jersey leader, Michael Rasmussen, insists that he did not lie about his whereabouts. "I feel I've won the Tour de France... but victory has been stolen from me." He also said that he will not retire, but continue his career.
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