Vincenzo Nibali Extends His Lead By Winning Stage 18

If there was any doubt as to who was the strongest rider in this year's Tour de France, stage 18 should have removed the doubt. Overall race leader Vincenzo Nibali dashed the hopes of his closest competitors by winning the tough stage 18, and extending his lead from 5' 26" seconds to a substantial 7' 10". Thibaud Pinot of France finished second (and vaulted himself into second place in the overall standings), while Polish rider Rafal Majka finished the stage in third place.
This makes it extremely difficult for anyone to erase Nibali's overall lead now. His team should be able to protect him in stage 19 (which is a fairly flat stage that should go to the sprinters) and stage 21 (the final ride into Paris (another stage for the sprinters). The only possibility will come in stage 20 -- a 54 kilometer time trial. But it will be extremely difficult to make up over seven minutes in that time trial. Here are the current standings:
YELLOW JERSEY (Overall Race Leader)
1. Vincenzo Nibali (Italy) Astana Pro Team
2. Thibaud Pinot (France) FDJ.FR..........7' 10"
3. Jean-Christophe Peraud (France) AG2R La Mondiale..........7' 23"
4. Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (Spain) Movistar Team..........7' 25"
5. Romain Bardet (France) AG2R La Mondiale..........9' 27"
6. Tejay Van Garderen (United States) BMC Racing..........11' 34"
7. Bauke Mollema (Netherlands) Belkin Pro Cycling..........13' 56"
8. Laurens Ten Dam (Netherlands) Belkin Pro Cycling..........14' 15"
9. Leopold Konig (Czech Republic) Team Netapp-Endura..........14' 37"
10. Haimar Zubeldia Agirre (Spain) Trek Factory Racing..........16' 25"

GREEN JERSEY (Best Sprinter)

1. Peter Sagan (Slovakia) Cannondale..........408 pts
2. Bryan Coquard (France) Team Europcar..........233 pts
3. Alexander Kristoff (Norway) Team Katusha..........217 pts
4. Marcel Kittel (Germany) Team Giant-Shimano..........177 pts 
5. Vincenzo Nibali (Italy) Astana Pro Team..........169 pts
6. Mark Renshaw (Australia) Omega Pharma-Quick Step..........153 pts

POLKA DOT JERSEY (Best Climber)

1. Rafal Majka (Poland) Tinkoff-Saxo..........181 pts
2. Vincenzo Nibali (Italy) Astana Pro Team..........168 pts
3. Joaquim Rodriguez (Spain) Team Katusha..........112 pts 
4. Thibaut Pinot (France) FDJ.FR..........89 pts 
5. Jean-Christophe Peraud (France) AG2R La Mondiale..........85 pts
6. Alessandro De Marchi (Italy) Cannondale..........78 pts

WHITE JERSEY (Best Young Rider)

1. Thibaud Pinot (France) FDJ.FR
2. Romain Bardet (France) AG2R La Mondiale..........2' 17"
3. Michal Kwiatkowski (Poland) Omega Pharma-Quick Step..........1h 1' 45"

TEAM STANDINGS

1. AG2R La Mondiale (France)
2. Belkin Pro Cycling (Belgium)..........28' 33"
3. Movistar Team (Spain)..........1h 5' 47"
4. BMC Racing (United States)..........1h 12' 25" 
5. Team Europcar (France)..........1h 26' 50"