The showdown between Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogachar began long ago, but they were not the only ones to settle in the mountains on stage 18, the final day of the Tour de France. Further down the standings, other confrontations were coming to an end on the road to Autacam.

David Gaudoux left Lourdes ready for a podium finish if a miracle occurred.

"My fight was not with Vingegaard, Pogachar, or (Gelant) Thomas. My fight was with Nairo Quintana and the others," Gordou said of the races during the Aubisque, Spandale, and Autacam passes.

On the final day in the Pyrenees, Gaudot rode as cautiously as he had in previous Tours, finishing fifth, 2:58 behind the hard-charging Vingegaard, but more than two minutes ahead of the Arcair-Samsic rider. Three days after Paris, Gaudou was in fourth place overall, 11:05 behind Vingegaard's impregnable yellow jersey.

"David knows how to manage himself. David knows how to manage himself. He did what he had to do."

Gaud could not withstand Pogachal's onslaught on Spandere, but he knew there was little point in trying. It was a battle for Vingegaard. Gaudo's focus was instead on ousting Quintana, who had begun to show signs of suffering on the day's final climb.

The battle between Pogacar and Vingegaard was interrupted when the Slovenian crashed on the descent of Spandale and drew attention when the yellow jersey group regrouped at the foot of the Hautacam, but Gaudo versus Quintana made for an attractive undercard.

When the yellow jersey group broke apart again on the final climb, Gordou managed to minimize the damage. Aided by teammate Valentin Maduas, he managed to gradually lead Quintana.

Gordou found more support on the uphill slopes. Thibaut Pinot, looking for his first French stage win, entered the breakaway but was dropped a third of the way up the Hautacam by the incredible acceleration of Wout Van Aert (Jumbo-Visma). He quickly halted his disappointment and put in a turn in Gaud's place. As they approached the summit, Gaud set his sights on Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers), who finished just four seconds ahead of the Welshman.

"Dropping Nairo was the hardest part, but I got to ride with the amazing Valentin Maduas again and the amazing Thibaut Pinot. I would have signed for fourth overall at the start of the Tour. Some people are picky, but you don't realize how much effort it takes to get fourth in the Tour. I am proud of this place. I've heard that this is the best result for a French rider since 2017 and the level is constantly rising."

For Pinot, the final day in the Pyrenees was also his last chance to leave his mark on the Tour, where he suffered from COVID-19 before the race and is struggling to find form. He was one of the stronger escapees in the early stages over Aubisque and Spandel, and at the foot of the Autacam he found himself with only Van Aert and Daniel Martinez (Ineos Grenadiers).

"When they told me they were 2:30 back, I knew they would come back fast. My hopes of a stage win lasted two kilometers, but that wasn't what was important today," Pinot said. Instead, Van Aert, who has won two group sprints in this Tour, pushed hard to pull away from Pinot on his favorite terrain.

"When I saw [Van Aert] forcing the pace on the last climb, I understood he was having a very, very, very good day," Pinot said. I was already happy just to be with him at the top."

Pinot's efforts led him to 10th place in the stage, moving him up to 15th place in the overall standings.

"After that, catching COVID-19 was his penalty," his brother and coach Julien Pinot told L'Équipe. 'At the start we thought he would go through. In the end, he was still at 92-93% of his maximum potential. But he couldn't repeat it at high intensity."