Abu dhabi: UAE Team Emirates-XRG's Tadej Pogacar tightened his grip on the Yellow Jersey during stage 18 of the Tour de France, finishing second behind Ben O'Connor (Jayco AlUla) and gaining 11 seconds, including bonus time, on rival Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) in the final 350 metres of the gruelling Queen stage.

According to Emirates News Agency, the Slovenian leads the general classification by nearly four and a half minutes with just three stages remaining. The 182.6km route featured over 5,000 metres of climbing, including the Col du Glandon, Col de la Madeleine, and the summit finish on the Col de la Loze.

Despite Visma-Lease a Bike's efforts to put Pogacar under pressure, UAE Team Emirates-XRG proved resilient. Teammates Jhonatan Narv¡ez and Adam Yates were instrumental, especially in the final climb, guiding Pogacar through key moments and neutralising attacks.

A key turning point came when Vingegaard attacked with 6km to go, but Pogacar responded strongly. As the race reached the final climb, Narv¡ez and Yates took over, setting a fierce pace that dropped key contenders. Pogacar launched a decisive move 350 metres from the line to gain time on Vingegaard and Oscar Onley (Picnic-PostNL), although O'Connor, from an earlier breakaway, held on for the stage win.

Pogacar said, 'I wanted the stage win, but the priority is the Yellow Jersey. Visma went hard on the Madeleine and downhill, but we kept our composure. There was no cooperation in the valley, so I waited for my teammates. On the final climb, Ben was strong, but I had good legs and held on to Yellow.'

With two key mountain stages left before Paris, Pogacar added, 'Today was the Queen stage, and tomorrow is another big one. Three more to go, then vacation.'