Victor Campenaerts wins sizzling stage from the breakaway

Pogacar and Vingegaard were relaxed as the escape pulled 15 minutes clear, the pair content to hold fire as the 2024 Tour reaches its climax in Nice on Sunday

"Tomorrow and Saturday," Pogacar said at the line, shaking his head as if the names of the day's themselves explained the massive challenge ahead.

"So we enjoyed today with the team, what a wonderful journey," said the 2020 and 2021 champion who came second on the last two Tours to Vingegaard.

The 25-year-old Slovenian is three days away from a cycling landmark as he won the Giro d'Italia in May and will become the first rider in 25-years to complete the double if he holds on.

Pogacar retained a 3min 11sec lead on Vingegaard as the peloton rolled gently over the finish line 13min 41sec after the winner, while rookie Remco Evenepoel is third at 5min 09sec.

It's going to be about legs rather than tactics, it'll be mano-a-mano up there, hard," Pogacar said, "There are some tired minds and tired legs out there. I'll try to win either tomorrow or Saturday," he promised, "The best defence is attack."

The final three stages are all potential game changers with Friday's run taking the peloton to 2800m altitude before a huge descent sure to provide an edge of the seat experience for the armchair viewer. Saturday is also mountainous with two climbs and another downhill finale.

But the final stage could shake up the standings even more with a 34km individual time trial from Monaco to Nice.

Campenaerts crept into an escape group that dominated the day around the spectacular lake Serre-Poncon, where he emerged victorious from a three-way game of dare on the home straight, with Matteo Vercher and Michal Kwiatkowski completing the podium.

He then stole hearts producing a telephone for a video link with his wife and newborn son Gustaaf and then sobbing as if the three of them were alone instead of being broadcast live across the planet.

"I don't know if any of you are dads," he said with a soft smile. I wasn't there, I was here, and I had to make it worth it.

"I was so nervous at the end with the three of us, can you understand how important this is," he asked. "I have dreamed of this for years," fighting his emotions.

The Lotto-Dstny rider, a former one hour world record holder, in many ways shared the limelight Thursday with the 20km long artificial lake Serre-Poncon with turquoise blue waters that run off the Alps to 90m deep in spring.

This was an opportunity for the lesser mortals to take centre stage on a Tour dominated by a tense tussle for the title, with one-day specialists jostling to get in the breakaway.

Thirty of them battled around a series of lake resorts cheered on by holiday crowds with 22km of categorised climbs that splintered the escape into mini groups in pine-wooded hills that spared them some of the sizzling 33 Celsius (91 Fahrenheit) heat.

Eritrean break out star Biniam Girmay retained the green sprint jersey ahead of Jasper Philipsen as the escape group took the intermediate sprint points way ahead of the peloton.

VIDEO: Stage 18 Highlights

Stage 18 Top 10

1  CAMPENAERTS Victor Lotto Dstny 4:10:20
2  VERCHER Mattéo TotalEnergies 0:00
3  KWIATKOWSKI Michal INEOS Grenadiers 0:00
4  SKUJINŠ Toms Lidl - Trek 0:22
5  LAZKANO Oier Movistar Team 0:22
6  LEMMEN Bart Team Visma | Lease a Bike 0:22
7  NEILANDS Krists Israel - Premier Tech 0:22
8  HINDLEY Jai Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe 0:22
9  VAN AERT Wout Team Visma | Lease a Bike 0:37
10  MATTHEWS Michael Team Jayco AlUla 0:37