Stages 16-17 of the Tour de France offered non-stop action. The 2023 edition of the prestigious cycling race showcased the best riders in the world. We go over the pinnacle individual time trial performance and breakaway experts in this highlight reel. With only a few more stages to go before the race heads to Paris, Nitrobetting checks out some of the most unforgettable moments in the past few days.

Top Stage 16-18 Highlights of the 2023 Tour de France

Rankings and jerseys after stage 18

Classements et maillots distinctifs après l'étape 18#TDF2023 pic.twitter.com/ITYeoqVWBL

— Tour de France™ (@LeTour) July 20, 2023

READ MORE: 2023 Tour de France Stage 19-21 Highlights

Stage 16

Jonas Vingegaard set the tone and dominated Stage 16 to win this Tour’s single individual time trial stage. The Jumbo-Visma rider marked down an astonishing TT over 22.4 kilometers and won the stage by 1:38 over General Classification rival and +115 winner Tadej Pogacar. Vingegaard also recorded his team’s first stage win of the 2023 Tour de France while producing the most significant time gains of the event so far.

The defending champion is the clear winner of the day and nearly cements his 2023 Tour de France victory. He put down the ride of his life a day after the rest day. He started the day with a ten-second advantage over his Slovenian competitor but stretched it to 1 minute and 48 seconds after the day.

Meanwhile, Pogacar logged the second-best time of the day–a minute and 13 seconds ahead of Wout Van Aert. He may have lost the race here following tight margins in the Alps. Very little separated the two riders during the first two weeks, but Vingegaard adding over a minute and a half to his ten-second advantage may prove to be the final straw in the GC battle. Of course, the race is not over until the final stage.

Stage 17

Felix Gall takes Stage 17 of the Tour de France. It was a day to remember and by far the craziest of the 2023 Tour so far. Gall attacked from the breakaway and pulled away from a strong group of riders to claim his first career grand tour stage victory. Meanwhile, there were multiple happenings behind him. Tadej Pogacar lost time and didn’t have the legs that day. The UAE Team Emirates rider lost well over five minutes to Jonas Vingegaard in the Maillot Jaune race. The +109 favorite finished fourth in Stage 17 and racked up a significant amount of time that will likely stand until the final stage.

Pogacar cracked on the Col de la Loze, while his Danish rival went on the offensive to deliver the haymaker. Vingegaard finished a minute and 52 seconds behind stage winner Gall. He now leads by a massive 7:35 over the second-best rider in the General Classification.

Above all else, Felix Gall introduced himself to the Tour de France. We have no question that he is a force to be reckoned with in the World Tour. The 25-year-old entered the day in tenth place in the General Classification and produced a calm and composed Col de la Loze ride to win on that stage. Ultimately, Gall emerged on the radar following performances that brought him the polka dot jersey after Stage 5. He earned the spotlight in the wake of a brutal day in France and moved up to eighth in the GC.

Stage 18

Soudal Quick-Step’s Kasper Asgreen crosses the finish line first in Stage 18 of the Tour, and he did so in dramatic fashion. Asgreen was part of the original breakaway of the day. On a stage set up for a sprint finish, Asgreen and the others in the break managed to hold off the freight train behind them. Asgreen outsprinted Lotto-Dstny’s Pascal Eenkhoorn and Uno-X Pro Cycling Team for the win.

It was a tough day for the winning team. The team’s lead sprinter, Fabio Jakobsen, retired after Stage 12. Their GC contender, Julian Alaphilippe, struggled to come up with performances throughout the race. But Asgreen got Soudal Quick-Step out of a rut, winning in the most unexpected way. The Danish cyclist got himself in the early break and sustained his effort long enough to take the victory. It also marks his first grand tour stage career win.

The sprinters failed to take advantage of the flat stage, while the peloton struggled to reel themselves to the four-man breakaway, but the latter stood strong and held out long enough for an incredible finish.

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