The irrepressible Pogacar — who sparked much of the drama in the stage — crossed the line in fourth place to seal his fourth overall Tour de France title, at the age of 26.

Tadej Pogacar is more than four minutes clear at the top of the general classification standings.

The battle for the podium, however, kept the Alps alive — as first Oscar Onley pulled himself back into contention on stage 18, before Florian Lipowitz showed impressive maturity to shed him one day ...