Frenchman Warren Barguil claimed his second stage win of the Tour de France on Thursday.

Barguil became the first French rider to win a Tour stage on Bastille Day since 2005 when he won stage 13 six days ago. And on stage 18, he became the first French rider to win a summit finish on the Col d’Izoard.

‘It’s really fantastic. I can’t believe it, it’s like a dream for me,’ said Barguil.

‘Last night, Michael Matthews and I said we could never think about the polka dot and the green jersey and now it’s 2-2 in stages.’

Darwin Atapuma had to settle for second, while Romain Bardet finished third to earn a small time bonus that saw him leapfrog Rigoberto Uran into second place on the general classification.

Bardet is 23 seconds behind Britain’s Chris Froome, who took another step towards a fourth Tour de France title by finishing fourth in the stage.

South Africa’s Louis Meintjes is eighth overall, six minutes and 52 seconds behind Froome.

Stage 18 result

1. Warren Barguil (Fra/Team Sunweb) 4hrs 40mins 33secs
2. Darwin Atapuma (Col/Team UAE Emirates) +20secs
3. Romain Bardet (Fra/AG2R La Mondiale) Same time
4. Chris Froome (GB/Team Sky)
5. Rigoberto Uran (Col/Cannondale-Drapac) +22secs
6. Mikel Landa (Spa/Team Sky) +32secs
7. Louis Meintjes (SA/Team UAE Emirates) +37secs
8. Dan Martin (Ire/Quick-Step Floors) +39secs
9. Simon Yates (GB/Orica-Scott) +59secs
10. Alberto Contador (Spa/Trek-Segafredo) +1min 09secs

General classification after stage 18

1. Chris Froome (GB/Team Sky) 78hrs 08mins 19secs
2. Romain Bardet (Fra/AG2R La Mondiale) +23secs
3. Rigoberto Uran (Col/Cannondale-Drapac) +29secs
4. Mikel Landa (Spa/Team Sky) +1min 36secs
5. Fabio Aru (Ita/Astana) +1min 55secs
6. Dan Martin (Ire/Quick-Step Floors) 2mins 56secs
7. Simon Yates (GB/Orica-Scott) 4mins 46secs
8. Louis Meintjes (SA/Team UAE Emirates) +6mins 52secs
9. Warren Barguil (Fra/Team Sunweb) +8mins 22secs
10. Alberto Contador (Spa/Trek-Segafredo) +8mins 34secs

Photo: Reuters