2018 Toronto Blue Jays season, Regular season, March and April
Toronto earned their first win of the 2018 season in the third game, 5–3. Yangervis Solarte hit the go-ahead home run in the eighth inning, before Kevin Pillar added an insurance run by stealing home, after having singled and stolen both second and third base. The Blue Jays split the series with a 7–4 win on April 1, thanks to Justin Smoak's grand slam in the eighth inning. The team then began a three-game series against the Chicago White Sox.


2018 Toronto Blue Jays season, Regular season, March and April
Russell Martin's first home run of the season gave the Jays the lead in the seventh inning, and Roberto Osuna earned his second save of the year in the 4–2 victory. A seven-run eighth inning by the Jays in the second game led to a 14–5 rout of Chicago. The Blue Jays were denied their first sweep of the season, after José Abreu's go-ahead solo home run gave the White Sox a 4–3 win.


2018 Toronto Blue Jays season, Regular season, March and April
The Blue Jays opened their 2018 road play in Arlington for three games against the Texas Rangers. The Jays took an 8–0 lead in the sixth inning of the first game, and held on to win 8–5. The Rangers took the second game, 5–1, with Rangers starter Mike Minor earning his first win as a starting pitcher since the 2014 season. In the rubber match, Rangers ace Cole Hamels allowed two first-inning home runs, and Toronto took the series with a 7–4 victory. The Jays then made their first trip to Camden Yards to take on the Baltimore Orioles.


2018 Toronto Blue Jays season, Regular season, March and April
Josh Donaldson's late-game grand slam gave the Blue Jays a 7–1 win. The game's paid attendance of 7,915 was the lowest in Orioles history, aside from the game played to an empty stadium during the 2015 riots. Aaron Sanchez took a no-hitter into the seventh inning of the second game, as the Jays edged the Orioles 2–1 thanks to a late home run by Curtis Granderson. Baltimore took the final game of the series, 5–3. To close the season's first road trip, the Blue Jays traveled to Cleveland, to take on the Indians.


2018 Toronto Blue Jays season, Regular season, March and April
Prior to the first game, Toronto placed Josh Donaldson on the disabled list. The Jays went down 4–0 through two innings in the first game, before scoring eight unanswered runs to take the game 8–4. The other two scheduled games of the series were rained out, and postponed to May 3 for a doubleheader.


2018 Toronto Blue Jays season, Regular season, March and April
Returning home for a brief, three-game series against the Kansas City Royals, the Blue Jays experienced just their second postponement since moving to the Rogers Centre in 1989. A section of ice, formed during a weekend freezing rain storm, fell from the CN Tower and pierced the roof of the stadium, forcing the team to schedule a doubleheader for the following day due to safety concerns.


2018 Toronto Blue Jays season, Regular season, March and April
A six-run sixth inning in the first game cemented the win for the Jays, while backup catcher Luke Maile's walk-off single in the tenth inning of the second game gave Toronto the rare home doubleheader sweep, by scores of 11–3 and 5–4. The Blue Jays would complete the series sweep with a 15–5 win on April 18, led by Curtis Granderson's ninth-career grand slam. The team then returned to the road for four games against the Yankees. They would split the first two games of the series, with the Yankees winning the first 4–3 and the Jays taking the second 8–5. New York would hold the Blue Jays to a single run in each of the next two games, taking the series with 9–1 and 5–1 victories.


2018 Toronto Blue Jays season, Regular season, May
The Blue Jays struggled through a generally mediocre month of May. Reasons for their struggles throughout the month were generally attributed to the Blue Jays having lost Osuna to administrative leave following accusations of domestic violence, the suspension of Osuna for 75 games for that offence, and injuries to several key players such as Josh Donaldson. For the first time since the month of May 1979, the team failed to win back-to-back games for the entire month.


2018 Toronto Blue Jays season, Regular season, May
The team posted their lowest monthly winning percentage of the season in the month of May (.322) after winning just nine games while losing nineteen. A significant detriment to the team’s record was being swept twice during the month, first by the Boston Red Sox and then the Oakland Athletics, which added seven losses without any wins. The Blue Jays began their season with a three-game series against the Minnesota Twins at their home stadium, Rogers Centre, which they won two games to one behind their strong offensive performance, scoring fourteen runs over the series.


2018 Toronto Blue Jays season, Regular season, May
The team travelled to face the Cleveland Indians in two make-up games, which were postponed after rain and inclement weather forced a postponement of the games that were originally scheduled for April 14 and April 15. They won the first game in extra innings 13-11 after they scored four runs in the eleventh inning, but lost the second game 4-13 after the Indians were able to score nine runs in a single inning.


2018 Toronto Blue Jays season, Regular season, May
Over each of the next three consecutive three-game series, where they played against Tampa Bay Rays, Seattle Mariners, and Boston Red Sox, the Blue Jays posted the same losing record of 1-2. In the first series against Tampa Bay at Tropicana Field, they lost the first two games by a combined five runs to eleven behind a strong pitching performance from the Rays. They won the third and final game of the series 2-1, only after a wild pitch in the ninth inning allowed the winning run to score.


2018 Toronto Blue Jays season, Regular season, May
After having their first day off in two full weeks, the Blue Jays returned home to face the Mariners in a three-game series. They lost the first game 0-5, after pitcher James Paxton, a Canada native, threw a no-hitter to leave the Blue Jays without a hit or run over nine innings. They would win the next game 5-2, as the team got twelve hits to the Rays’ five; however, on the next night, the Rays would get seventeen hits to the Blue Jays’ eight in a 3-9 loss.


2018 Toronto Blue Jays season, Regular season, May
The Blue Jays remained at home to play the Red Sox in a three-game series. They won the first game 5-3 in extra innings, as catcher Luke Maile hit two home runs, one to tie the game in the seventh inning, and one to win the game in the bottom of the twelfth inning. However, the team would lose the next two games behind strong pitching and hitting performances from the Red Sox.


2018 Toronto Blue Jays season, Regular season, May
After playing the last two series at home, the Blue Jays travelled to Citi Field to play the New York Mets in a two-game series. They lost the first game 2-12 behind a strong pitching and hitting performance from the Mets’ starting pitcher, Noah Syndergaard. However, they won the second game 12-1 as the team got fifteen hits, and their starting pitcher, J.A. Happ, only allowed two hits while striking out ten batters over seven innings. This would be the first time the Blue Jays would win against the Mets in an road game in franchise history.


2018 Toronto Blue Jays season, Regular season, May
After their series against the Mets, the Blue Jays returned home to Rogers Centre to play a four-game series against the Oakland Athletics. Despite both teams having an even 22-22 record following the first game in the series, the Athletics would go on to sweep the Blue Jays. The team was limited to twelve total runs over the four losses, compared to the Athletics’ twenty-seven. This would be the second time, and not the last, that the team would lose four straight games in the 2018 season.


2018 Toronto Blue Jays season, Regular season, May
After a day off, the Blue Jays remained at home to play a three-game series against the Los Angeles Angels. They snapped their four-game losing streak with a 5-3 win in the first game, where they scored all five runs in the first inning. However, they would go on to lose the next two games and the series. They were up 3-0 in the bottom of the fifth inning, but after the Angels scored four runs in the top of the ninth inning, the Blue Jays ended up losing 4-5. They would also lose the last game 1-8 behind a robust offensive performance from the Angels.


2018 Toronto Blue Jays season, Regular season, May
After losing eight of their last ten games, the Blue Jays travelled to Citizens Bank Park to play the Philadelphia Phillies in a three-game series. They won the first game 6-5 as the Blue Jays’ bullpen held on to win a game that the team was winning 6-1 in the bottom of the fifth inning. However, the team would go on to lose the next game 1-2 after two short rain delays and a strong pitching performance from the Phillies’ starter Aaron Nola.


2018 Toronto Blue Jays season, Regular season, May
Behind an eight-strikeout pitching performance from their starter J.A. Happ, the Blue Jays won the final game of the series 5-3. This would be the first time in a month that the team would win a series. To complete a rather mediocre month of May, the Blue Jays would get swept by the Boston Red Sox in a three-game series at Fenway Park. They lost both the first and the second game 3-8, as the Red Sox offense was lethal throughout both games.


2018 Toronto Blue Jays season, Regular season, May
They lost the final game in the series 4-6 to complete the sweep for Boston, as Red Sox outfielder J.D. Martinez hit his league-tying eighteenth home run. By the end of an unexceptional month of May, the Blue Jays would have a subpar 25-31 overall record, and would be fourteen games behind the first-place Boston Red Sox in the American League East Division.


2018 Toronto Blue Jays season, Regular season, June
Coming off a below-average month of May, the Blue Jays would look to improve on their 25-31 overall record. Although they would lose the first two games in the month of June to the Detroit Tigers, the Blue Jays would go on to win fourteen games in June while losing twelve. June would be the last month of the regular season where the Blue Jays would post a winning record, and the only such month other than April, when the team posted a 15-10 record.


2018 Toronto Blue Jays season, Regular season, June
In the first series of the month, the Blue Jays travelled to Comerica Park to play three games against the Detroit Tigers. They would lose the first two games as the Detroit offense scored twelve combined runs to the Blue Jays’ seven. They would win the next game 8-4 behind a strong performance by their starting pitcher Aaron Sanchez, breaking a five-game losing streak dating back to late May. After a day off, the Blue Jays returned home to play the New York Yankees at the Rogers Centre in a two-game series. They would lose both games after the high-powered offense of the Yankees put up ten combined runs to the Blue Jays’ two. This would not be the last time that the Blue Jays were swept in a series or shutout in a game during the month of June.


2018 Toronto Blue Jays season, Regular season, June
After losing eight out of their last ten games, the Blue Jays would go on to sweep the Baltimore Orioles in a four-game series at home, their first time being on the positive side of a sweep since the middle of April. They outscored the Orioles by a combined twenty-seven runs to eleven, including a thirteen-run win in the fourth and final game of the series. After winning their last four games, the Blue Jays would travel to Tropicana Field to play a three-game series against the Tampa Bay Rays.


2018 Toronto Blue Jays season, Regular season, June
In their second series against the Rays this season, the Blue Jays would get swept, including a 1-0 shutout in the third and final game. After a day off to return home to Rogers Centre, the Blue Jays would face the Washington Nationals in a three-game series. They would go on to sweep the Nationals in three games, the second of which was as 2-0 shutout, behind strong offensive performances by their starting infielder Yangervis Solarte. After winning seven of their last ten games, the Blue Jays faced the Atlanta Braves in a two-game series at home. They lost the first game 4-11, as the Braves got fourteen hits while hitting two home runs; they would go on to win the second game 5-4 behind a strong performance from their starting pitcher J.A. Happ, who struck out eight batters over 8 1/3 innings.


2018 Toronto Blue Jays season, Regular season, June
The Blue Jays then travelled to Angel Stadium to face the Los Angeles Angels in a four-game series. The team would lose the first two games, 8-5 and 2-1, despite getting more tying or beating the Angels in hits both games. They would go on to win the next game 4-1, after scoring three runs in the top of the ninth inning. They would also win the following game 7-6 in extra innings, as designated hitter Kendrys Morales hit a pinch-hit home run in the top of the tenth inning.


2018 Toronto Blue Jays season, Regular season, June
The Blue Jays then travelled to Minute Maid Park to face the Houston Astros in a three-game series. The team would win the first game 6-3, as starting outfielder Curtis Granderson hit two home runs. They would then go on to lose the next two games, the first of which was a 0-7 shutout behind a dominant performance from Astros’ starting pitcher Charlie Morton, and the second of which was a 6-7 loss as Astros’ starting infielder Alex Bregman hit a two-run walk-off home run to seal the comeback win.


2018 Toronto Blue Jays season, Regular season, June
The final series of the month of June for the Blue Jays would be a four-game series against the Detroit Tigers at Rogers Centre. As the Blue Jays began the month with two losses to the Tigers, they ended the month with two wins against them. They won the first game 3-2 behind a stellar seven-inning performance from their starting pitcher Marcus Stroman. In their last final game of the month of June, the team won 4-3 as starting first baseman Justin Smoak hit a walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth inning to seal the win. By the end of an adequate month of June, the Blue Jays would have a below-average 39-43 overall record, and would be sixteen games behind the first-place Boston Red Sox in the American League East Division.


2018 Toronto Blue Jays season, Regular season, July
After a competent month of June where the team posted a 14-12 record, the Blue Jays would only worsen their 39-43 overall record. The team would post an abysmal 9-15 record in July, their second-worst winning percentage by month (.375), only after May. They would begin by the month by losing their first two games, which were the final two games of a four-game series at home with the Detroit Tigers that began in late June.


2018 Toronto Blue Jays season, Regular season, July
They would lose by a combined 12-3 after a strong offensive performance from the Tigers’ starting outfielder Nicholas Castellanos in the first game, and an exceptional eight-inning performance from the Tigers’ starting pitcher Mike Fiers in the second game. The Blue Jays would then play the New York Mets in Rogers Centre in two-game series. They would win the first game 8-6, but then lose the next one 3-6. After a day off, the Blue Jays played the New York Yankees in a three-game series at home. They would win the first game 6-2 as starting first baseman Justin Smoak hit a three-run home run early, but would then lose the next two 5-8 and 1-2, respectively.


2018 Toronto Blue Jays season, Regular season, July
After playing three consecutive home series, the Blue Jays travelled to SunTrust Park to play the Atlanta Braves in a two-game series. The team would win the first game 6-2 as starting pitcher Marcus Stroman pitched six innings while only allowing one run. They would lose the second game 5-9 as the Braves scored six runs by the end of the second inning. The Blue Jays then travelled to Fenway Park to play the Boston Red Sox in a four-game series.


2018 Toronto Blue Jays season, Regular season, July
The team would get its lone win in the series in the second game as they won 13-7, but would lose the other three games by a combined seventeen runs to eight. After a four-day break for the MLB Home Run Derby and All-Star Game, which only included one selection from the Blue Jays (J.A. Happ) and symbolically marks the halfway point in the regular season, the Blue Jays faced the Baltimore Orioles in a three-game series at Rogers Centre. Similarly to the last time the team played the Orioles in a series, the Blue Jays completed the sweep. They beat the Orioles in three close games, 8-7, 4-1, and 5-4.


2018 Toronto Blue Jays season, Regular season, July
Looking to improve on their three-game win streak, the Blue Jays faced the Minnesota Twins in a three-game series at home. The team would go on to lose their next three games, as the Twins completed the sweep. The second game was a 0-5 shutout as Twins’ starting pitcher Jose Berrios threw seven scoreless innings with nine strikeouts. After a day off, the Blue Jays travelled to Guaranteed Rate Field to play the Chicago White Sox in a three-game series.


2018 Toronto Blue Jays season, Regular season, July
The Blue Jays would win the series two games to one, which would be the second and last winning series for the team in the month of July. The month of July would end in a similar way as it began for the Blue Jays, as they lost their final two games by a combined sixteen runs to three in a three-game series against the Oakland Athletics. By the end of a mediocre month of July, the Blue Jays would have a subpar 48-58 overall record, and would be a dispiriting 25 1/2 games behind the first-place Boston Red Sox in the American League East Division.


2018 Toronto Blue Jays season, Regular season, August
After an inadequate month of July where the Blue Jays won only nine of their twenty-four games, the team would only perform slightly better in August. They would post a 13-15 record for the month, winning four more games than the previous month but still losing more than winning. The first game of August would be the third and final game of a three-game series against the Oakland Athletics that began in late July. The Blue Jays lost 3-8, and the Athletics were able to sweep to Blue Jays for the second time this season.


2018 Toronto Blue Jays season, Regular season, August
The Blue Jays then travelled to T-Mobile Park to face the Seattle Mariners in a four-game series. After a three-game losing streak, the team won the next three games by a combined 19-6 to win the series, but then lost the fourth and final game 3-6. After three consecutive road series, the Blue Jays returned home to Rogers Centre to play the Boston Red Sox in a three-game series.


2018 Toronto Blue Jays season, Regular season, August
They lost the first two games, as the Red Sox posted ten runs in both games while the Blue Jays scored seven and five, respectively, but then won the third and final game of the series 8-5. The team then faced the Tampa Bay Rays in a three-game series, but ended up losing the series two games to one as they only scored five runs to the Rays’ ten. They lost the first game as they were shutout 0-7, but won the third and final game 2-1.


2018 Toronto Blue Jays season, Regular season, August
After playing six games at home, the Blue Jays travelled to Kauffman Stadium to face the Kansas City Royals in a four-game series. They lost the first game 1-3 as Royals’ starting pitcher Brad Keller threw seven innings only allowing one run. They won the next two games by the same score, 6-5. The team lost the fourth and final game of the series 2-6, as they scored two runs in the first four innings and did not score again. They then travelled to Yankee Stadium to play a three-game series against the New York Yankees.


2018 Toronto Blue Jays season, Regular season, August
The Blue Jays were swept as the Yankees offense remained strong throughout the series, scoring twenty-eight runs to the Blue Jays’ thirteen. In the final game, J.A. Happ received the win as starting pitcher for the Yankees against his former team, as he was traded from the Blue Jays to the Yankees for an infielder Brandon Drury and outfielder Billy McKinney in the previous month. After being on the negative side of a sweep, the Blue Jays would go on to sweep the Baltimore Orioles in a three-game series at home at Rogers Centre. They outscored the Orioles by a combined nineteen runs to five, including a shutout in the third and final game of the series.


2018 Toronto Blue Jays season, Regular season, August
The Blue Jays looked to improve on their three-game win streak as they faced the Philadelphia Phillies in a three-game series at home. They would win the first two games, 4-2 and 8-6, respectively, and extend their win streak to five games, but would go on to lose the third and final game of the series, 3-8. The team then travelled to Oriole Park to play the Baltimore Orioles in a three-game series.


2018 Toronto Blue Jays season, Regular season, August
Only a week after the Blue Jays’ last series against the Orioles where they completed the sweep, the Blue Jays were on the losing side of a sweep, as they lost their next three consecutive games to the Orioles. The first game of the series was a 0-7 shutout; the Orioles did not score fewer than seven runs in any of the three games. After a day off, the team travelled to Marlins Park to face the Miami Marlins in a three-game series.


2018 Toronto Blue Jays season, Regular season, August
The final game of August for the Blue Jays was a 6-5 win against the Marlins to start the series, as the Blue Jays scored five runs in the top of the ninth inning to complete the comeback. By the end of a disappointing month of August, the Blue Jays would have a below-average 61-73 overall record, and would be a discouraging 31 games behind the first-place Boston Red Sox in the American League East Division.


2018 Toronto Blue Jays season, Regular season, September
After an insufficient month of August, as the Blue Jays were swept twice and won thirteen games out of a possible twenty-eight, the team’s hopes for making the postseason were in jeopardy as the final month of the regular season began. The team would perform worse in September than they did in the previous month, as they would post a 12-16 record for the month, and be eliminated from playoff contention in early September.


2018 Toronto Blue Jays season, Regular season, September
The first two games of the month of September were the final two games of a three-game series against the Miami Marlins that had begun the previous day in August. The Blue Jays would lose the second game of the series 3-6, but win the third game 6-1, as starting pitcher Sean Reid-Foley pitched seven innings with ten strikeouts. The Blue Jays then returned home to Rogers Centre to play the Tampa Bay Rays in a three-game series. Although they lost the first two games, by a score of 1-7 and 0-4, respectively, they won the third and final game of the series 10-3, after scoring seven runs in the bottom of the first inning.


2018 Toronto Blue Jays season, Regular season, September
The Blue Jays remained at home to play a four-game series against the Cleveland Indians. They alternated games with the Indians, losing the first 4-9, winning the second 3-2, losing the third 8-9, and winning the final game 6-2. Following the 8-9 loss in the third game of the series, the Blue Jays were mathematically eliminated from playoff contention. After a day off, the team travelled to Fenway Park to face the Boston Red Sox in a three-game series. For the ninth and final time, the Blue Jays were swept.


2018 Toronto Blue Jays season, Regular season, September
The Red Sox outscored the Blue Jays twelve runs to five during the three-game series. After losing to the best team in their division in the Red Sox, the Blue Jays travelled to Yankee Stadium to play a three-game series against the second-best team in the American League East, the New York Yankees. They would be shutout in the first game 0-11, but would win the final two games 8-7 and 3-2, respectively. The team would then travel to Orioles Park to play the Baltimore Orioles in a three-game series. They would shutout the Orioles in the first game 5-0, win the second game 6-4, and lose 1-2 in the final game of the series.


2018 Toronto Blue Jays season, Regular season, September
After playing three consecutive three-game series on the road, the Blue Jays returned home to Rogers Centre to play a four-game series against the Tampa Bay Rays. They would alternate games with the Rays, winning the first game 9-8, losing the second 3-11, winning the third 5-2, and losing the final game 2-5. For their final home series of the regular season, the Blue Jays played the Houston Astros in a three-game series. They would lose the first two games, 3-5 and 1-4, respectively, but would win their final home game of the regular season 3-1.


2018 Toronto Blue Jays season, Regular season, September
For their final series of the regular season, the Blue Jays travelled to Tropicana Field to face the Tampa Bay Rays in a three-game series to complete the regular season. This series would mark the third meeting of these teams in the month of September, and the final game for both teams for the 2018 season, as neither team would reach the postseason. The Blue Jays would receive their final win of the season in the first game of the series, as they won 7-6. They would go on to lose the final two games of the series, and the season, 3-4 and 4-9, respectively.


2018 Toronto Blue Jays season, Regular season, September
By the end of the month of September, the MLB regular season ended, and the season formally concluded for the Blue Jays. The team finished with a below-average 73-89 overall record, did not reach the postseason, and were 35 games behind the Boston Red Sox, who would go on to win the American League East division title, and the 2018 World Series championship.


2018 Toronto FC II season
The 2018 Toronto FC II season is the fourth season in the club's history. The team finished 16th in the Eastern Conference, missing the playoffs. After the season, Toronto FC II voluntarily moved from the second division United Soccer League to the third division USL League One.


2018 Toronto FC II season, Roster, Players
As of June 7, 2018. The squad of Toronto FC II will be composed of an unrestricted number of first-team players on loan to the reserve team, players signed to TFC II, and TFC Academy players. Academy players who appear in matches with TFC II will retain their college eligibility.


2018 Toronto FC season
The 2018 Toronto FC season was the 12th season in the history of Toronto FC. Toronto FC reached the Champions League finals for the first time in their history. After a 2–1 home loss to Guadalajara on April 17 in the first leg of the CONCACAF Champions League final, TFC would win the return away leg 2–1 on April 25, leading to a draw on aggregate, but lost 4–2 in the penalty shootout. Later in the season, on September 19, Toronto FC played against Tigres UANL in the inaugural Campeones Cup, losing the match 3–1 at home. Reigning MLS Cup champions Toronto FC failed to qualify for the playoffs after a 2–1 home loss against the Vancouver Whitecaps on October 6, 2018, with three games left to play in the season.


2018 Toronto FC season, Squad, International roster slots
Toronto has seven MLS International Roster Slots for use in the 2018 season. They traded one spot to Los Angeles FC in exchange of $50,000 of General Allocation Money.


2018 Toronto FC season, Transfers, Loan In, Draft picks
Draft picks are not automatically signed to the team roster. Only those who are signed to a contract will be listed as transfers in.


2018 Toronto International Film Festival
The 43rd annual Toronto International Film Festival was held from September 6 to 16, 2018. In June 2018, the TIFF organizers announced a program to ensure that at least 20 percent of all film critics and journalists given press accreditation to the festival were members of underrepresented groups, such as women and people of color. The People's Choice Award was won by Green Book, directed by Peter Farrelly.


2018 Toronto International Film Festival, Programmes
The first slate of galas and special presentations was announced on July 24, 2018. The festival's lineup of Canadian films was announced on August 1, and the lineup for the Platform program was announced on August 8. Two days later, the Documentaries lineup was announced, with additional films added to the Midnight Madness programme. Additional films were added to respective lineups on August 14.


2018 Toronto International Film Festival, Canada's Top Ten
TIFF's annual Canada's Top Ten list, of the films selected by festival programmers as the year's ten best Canadian feature and short films, was released on December 5.


2018 Toronto International Film Festival, Canada's Top Ten
Unlike in prior years, the films selected for the Top Ten list were not screened at a dedicated festival in January 2019, but instead each received its own standalone theatrical run at the TIFF Bell Lightbox throughout the year.


2018 Toronto Rock season
The Toronto Rock are a lacrosse team based in Toronto playing in the National Lacrosse League (NLL). The 2018 season is the 21st in franchise history, and 20th as the Rock.


2018 Toronto Rock season, Regular season, Finalstandings
x: Clinched playoff berth; c: Clinched playoff berth by crossing over to another division; y: Clinched division; z: Clinched best regular season record; GP: Games PlayedW: Wins; L: Losses; GB: Games back; PCT: Win percentage; Home: Record at Home; Road: Record on the Road; GF: Goals scored; GA: Goals allowedDifferential: Difference between goals scored and allowed; GF/GP: Average number of goals scored per game; GA/GP: Average number of goals allowed per game


2018 Toronto Rock season, Roster, Entry Draft
The 2017 NLL Entry Draft took place on September 18, 2017. The Rock made the following selections:


2018 Toronto Wolfpack season
This article details the Toronto Wolfpack's rugby league football club's 2018 season. This is the Wolfpack's 2nd season in their history and 1st season in the Championship after the Wolfpack dominated the 2017 League 1 season and earned promotion to 2018 Rugby League Championship.


2018 Toronto Wolfpack season, Season review, September 2017
After winning the 2017 League 1 season and promotion to the Championship, Toronto immediately sought to improve their squad as they announced that centre Tom Armstrong had signed from Super League side Widnes Vikings. Warrington Wolves prop forward Ashton Sims signed for the Wolfpack on a 2-year deal. Albanian prop Olsi Krasniqi was the next to sign from Salford Red Devils along with Australian prop David Taylor from Canberra Raiders and NRL halfback Josh McCrone from St George Illawarra Dragons.


2018 Toronto Wolfpack season, Season review, October 2017
October started with Toronto paying £130,000 for the services of loose forward Joe Westerman from Warrington Wolves on a three-year deal. Following this, the Wolfpack acquired hooker Andy Ackers from Championship side London Broncos on a two-year deal. During this month it was revealed that the club would be releasing props Steve Crossley, Tom Dempsey and Shaun Pick whilst halfback Rhys Jacks and hooker Sean Penkywicz would also be released.


2018 Toronto Wolfpack season, Season review, November 2017
The fixtures for the 2018 season were released and it was revealed that Toronto would travel to relegated Leigh Centurions for the first game of the season, the Wolfpack will play their first 11 games away from home before they host Halifax RLFC on April 28. Toronto would also face Leigh during the annual Summer Bash as the headline match. Club captain, Craig Hall, becomes another departing Wolfpack player, leaving on personal terms for family reasons.


2018 Toronto Wolfpack season, Season review, November 2017
The Wolfpack also announced a ground breaking Transatlantic Challenge which would see them face the Bradford Bulls in a pre-season match in 2018 and 2019, with the 2018 fixture being played at Odsal Stadium on 26 January and the 2019 fixture likely to be played in Canada or the United States to promote the sport. Furthermore, Toronto agreed to change their UK base from Brighouse Rangers to Manchester Metropolitan University in order to take advantage of better facilities.


2018 Toronto Wolfpack season, Season review, December 2017
December started with the announcement that the Wolfpack would kick off the Magic Weekend in 2018 by playing against Toulouse Olympique in order to promote the international teams within the sport and also promote the RFL Championship to a wider audience. It was also revealed that Toronto had signed forward Cory Paterson on a two-year deal from relegated Leigh Centurions. Furthermore, the Wolfpack also signed forward Sam Hopkins and winger Adam Higson on a one-year deals from Leigh.


2018 Toronto Wolfpack season, Season review, January 2018
It was revealed that prop forward Dan Fleming wanted to remain close to home due to the birth of his first child and approached coach Paul Rowley to be released, this was granted and he signed a 2 year deal with Championship side Halifax RLFC. Toronto announced that prop forwards Fuifui Moimoi, David Taylor and Ryan Bailey left the club by mutual agreement whilst on a pre-season camp to Portugal. The Wolfpack revealed that newcomer Josh McCrone would captain the side for the 2018 season whilst ex Warrington Wolves prop Ashton Sims would be the club's vice captain.


2018 Toronto Wolfpack season, Season review, January 2018
During a press conference for League 1 side Bradford Bulls it was announced that the Wolfpack had entered a dual registration deal with the Bulls. The Wolfpack signed young centre Nick Rawsthorne from Hull F.C. on a 2 year deal and also prop forward Jack Buchanan from Widnes Vikings on a one year deal. In their only pre-season friendly, the Wolfpack comfortably beat Bradford 34–0 with Liam Kay scoring two tries and Quentin Laulu-Togaga'e, Cory Paterson, Blake Wallace and Joe Westerman also scoring tries. Ryan Brierley took over the kicking duties and kicked five from six attempts.


2018 Toronto Wolfpack season, Season review, February 2018
Life in the Championship started well for the Wolfpack as they beat fellow promotions contenders Leigh Centurions 34–12. Former Leigh player Liam Kay scored a hat trick whilst Ryan Brierley, Cory Paterson and Adam Sidlow also scored tries with Brierley rounding things off with five conversions. Following the opening day victory Toronto announced the signing of Australian centre Jake Butler-Fleming from League 1 side York City Knights. A tough trip to Barrow Raiders saw the Wolfpack grind out a hard fought 8–8 draw in bad conditions, second row Andrew Dixon and centre Nick Rawsthorne both scored tries.


2018 Toronto Wolfpack season, Season review, February 2018
Following this Toronto beat Championship stalwarts Halifax R.L.F.C. 20–8, superstar prop Ashton Sims made his debut in this match. Winger Adam Higson scored his first two tries for the club with Greg Worthington and Rawsthorne also crossing the line for a try each whilst Brierley kicked two goals. Toronto bolstered their pack by signing retired player Reni Maitua on a two year deal. Round 4 found Wolfpack with a 47–16 loss to top of the league London Broncos which gave the Wolfpack their biggest loss so far, Dixon and Richard Whiting scoring tries whilst Liam Kay continued his try scoring form with a try. Brierley converted two goals.


2018 Toronto Wolfpack season, Season review, March 2018
March found Wolfpack at the top of the Championship thanks to the wins over Easter against Featherstone Rovers 24–16. Game against Swinton Lions was their highest scored so far 52–12. Wolfpack strengthen their squad by signing Salford Red Devil's Fullback Gareth O'Brienand NRL's Canterbury Bulldogs Centre Chase Stanley. Impact of the signing was evident during the game against Batley Bulldogs 26–18 where O'Brien scored his first hat-trick for Wolfpack. Stanley made his first try for the team week later against Dewsbury Rams 23–12.


2018 Toronto Wolfpack season, Season review, April 2018
Despite being plagued with injuries, Easter Monday win against Toulouse Olympique 24–22 followed by two more with Batley Bulldogs 26–18, Dewsbury Rams 23–12 continued Wolfpack dominance at the top of the table. NRL's Manly Sea Eagles Darcy Lussick signing 3 year contract was a much needed addition to the Wolfpack. As Lamport stadium undergoes renovations, first home game was played in London against Halifax RLFC and won by Wolfpack 42-10.


2018 Toronto Wolfpack season, Season review, May 2018
Prior their first home game of the season Wolfpack has signed Scottish international and Warrington Wolves Full-back Matty Russell. With Lamport Stadium under maintenance, Canadian opener was played at Fletcher's Fields. Game against Swinton Lions was a decisive win for the Toronto Wolfpack 62–14. Clash with Super League's Warrington Wolves ended up in defeat 66-10 thus ending Wolfpack run for Challenge Cup 2018, while game against Toulouse Olimpique at Dacia Magic Weekend found team winning 43–30 with debut try for Matty Russell and 7th hat-trick for the Wolfpack by Liam Kay. With 25 points they continued to lead Championship Table. Last away game was played during Summer Bash 2018 with Toronto Wolfpack winning 28–26 against Leigh Centurions.


2018 Toronto Wolfpack season, Season review, June 2018
Month of June found Wolfpack undefeated on their home grounds. Game against London Broncos, the only team Wolfpack lost to in the beginning of the season was a sound 32-12 victory. Gareth O'Brien started as a kicker against Dewsbury Rams and continued through the month with games against Barrow Raiders and Leigh Centurions, rivalry between Wolfpack and the former continues as Wolfpack won all three clashes.


2018 Toronto Wolfpack season, Season review, July 2018
After the game against Sheffield Eagles (a 68–4 win), Toronto Wolfpack secured the Betfred Championship League Leaders Shield 2018. The Wolfpack had their first home defeat during the regular season against Featherstone Rovers (12–30).


2018 Toronto Wolfpack season, Squad statistics
Statistics include Championship, Challenge Cup and Super 8s matches, as of 9 October 2018.


2018 Toronto mayoral election
The Toronto mayoral election of 2018 was held on Monday, October 22, 2018, to elect the Mayor of the city of Toronto. Incumbent Mayor John Tory was re-elected for a second term, defeating former Chief City Planner Jennifer Keesmaat with 63.49% of the vote. Tory won all of Toronto’s 25 wards.


2018 Toronto mayoral election
Registration for candidates for the office of Mayor officially opened on May 1, 2018, and closed on July 27, 2018, at 2 pm. Incumbent John Tory has been Mayor of Toronto since being elected in 2014 and launched his bid for re-election on May 1, 2018. Former city councillor Doug Ford declared his intent to run, but later withdrew to seek the leadership of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario. Former Chief City Planner Jennifer Keesmaat was speculated to be considering entering the race, and after initially indicating she would not run, she announced her candidacy on July 27, 2018, the last day to register as a candidate.


2018 Toronto mayoral election, Candidates
Official registration for mayoral candidates opened May 1, 2018, and closed on July 27. At the close of nominations, 35 candidates have registered to run in the election.


2018 Toronto municipal election
The 2018 Toronto municipal election was held on October 22, 2018, to elect a mayor and city councillors in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Registration for candidates for the office of mayor, councillor, and school board trustee opened on May 1, 2018, and initially closed on July 27, 2018. John Tory won the mayoral election with over 60% of the vote.


2018 Toronto municipal election
To account for the city's growing population, Toronto's council wards underwent a realignment, with the removal of a ward in the west end, three new wards added in the downtown area, and a new ward in North York, expanding the city to 47 wards. However, in July 2018, newly-elected Premier of Ontario Doug Ford introduced legislation to require that Toronto's municipal elections use the same ridings as it does for provincial and federal elections, thus reducing the council to 25 wards.


2018 Toronto municipal election
The bill attracted controversy for its intent to change electoral boundaries in the middle of a campaign, and was struck down as unconstitutional in September 2018. However, a stay on this ruling was granted nine days later by the Court of Appeal for Ontario; the three judge panel ruled that Bill 5 is constitutional and that the previous ruling was "dubious", thus reinstating the 25-ward election.


2018 Toronto municipal election
Seventeen Toronto councillors were elected with less than half of all votes cast. One councillor, Cynthia Lai was elected with approximately 27% of the votes cast.


2018 Toronto municipal election, Ward boundary adjustment
The Toronto City Council commissioned an independent review of its ward boundaries in order to account for predicted population growth in specific areas of the city. The consultants recommended the realignment of the city's 44 wards into 47. Under the 47 ward model, wards would not achieve voter parity until 2026 (when the population projection of 61,000 residents per ward would eventually kick in). The Supreme Court considers voter parity to be crucial to achieving effective representation.


2018 Toronto municipal election, Ward boundary adjustment
Three new wards were added in downtown, one in North York, while one was removed from Toronto's west end by consolidating 3 wards into 2. Based on the patterns of incumbents shifting to successor wards, the four "new" wards are Ward 20, Ward 21, Ward 25 and Ward 29; the ward reduction in the west end is reflected in the effective merger of what had been designated as Ward 17 and Ward 18 on the preceding map into new Ward 16.


2018 Toronto municipal election, Ward boundary adjustment
Two city councillors, Giorgio Mammoliti and Justin Di Ciano, along with several Toronto citizens, appealed the redrawing of ward boundaries at the Ontario Municipal Board. The appeal was rejected and new ward boundaries approved in a 38-page decision. Council had to pass a by-law before January 2018 for the boundaries to be changed before the election.


2018 Toronto municipal election, Ward boundary adjustment, Reduction of wards
On July 27, 2018, the last day for candidate registration, former councillor and new Ontario Premier Doug Ford introduced the Better Local Government Act, also known as Bill 5. The legislation requires that the Toronto city council align its municipal wards with those of the federal and provincial electoral ridings, thus reducing the size of Toronto's council from 47 to 25 wards. Each council member would serve an area representing an average of 111,000 residents.


2018 Toronto municipal election, Ward boundary adjustment, Reduction of wards
Ford justified the legislation by stating that the council had "failed to act on the critical issues facing the city", and that expanding it to 47 wards would exacerbate the existing "dysfunction". The province claimed that such a reduction would result in a savings of $25 million over the next four years (in comparison to the city's operating budget of $11.12 billion per-year). The bill also cancelled pending elections for regional chair in the regional municipalities of Niagara and Muskoka, Peel, and York, resetting all four positions back to appointed, rather than elected, offices.


2018 Toronto municipal election, Ward boundary adjustment, Reduction of wards
The bill proved controversial, with the official opposition Ontario NDP disputing its intent and considering it an abuse of power, while other groups (including candidates and the Toronto District School Board) contended that the bill undermined the democratic process. Toronto mayor John Tory suggested that such significant changes be subject to a public referendum. Toronto's city council voted 24-17 on a motion to oppose Bill 5 and support Tory's call for a referendum. Tory also criticized Ford for not providing any opportunities to consult with the municipal government over the bill. Ford denied Tory's statement, stating that he had met with Tory and other officials multiple times. Bill 5 was passed August 14, 2018. Rocco Achampong, a candidate for one of the wards removed in the consolidation, launched a legal challenge over the bill in the Ontario Superior Court.


2018 Toronto municipal election, Ward boundary adjustment, Reduction of wards
The government of Ontario argued that the larger wards were intended to improve voter parity for the 2018 municipal election (as the 47 ward model would not achieve voter parity until 2026). However, the city asserted that the 25-ward structure provided no better parity than the newly-implemented 47-ward structure, and a consultant argued that the roughly doubled ward population reduced councillors' capacity to serve their communities—another aspect of effective representation.


2018 Toronto municipal election, Ward boundary adjustment, Reduction of wards
In an affidavit, Toronto city manager Giuliana Carbone disputed the claimed cost savings, stating that it would only save $6 million over four years, taking into account the increased staffing that would be required to operate the larger wards, and the costs incurred by realigning the election to match the new boundaries.


2018 Toronto municipal election, Ward boundary adjustment, Reduction of wards
On September 10, 2018, the Better Local Government Act was struck down as unconstitutional by Superior Court Justice Edward Belobaba, ruling that the larger wards infringed on citizens' rights to effective electoral representation, and that unilaterally changing electoral boundaries in the middle of a campaign infringed on candidates' freedom of expression. He explained that "passing a law that changes the city's electoral districts in the middle of its election and undermines the overall fairness of the election is antithetical to the core principles of our democracy", and questioned the province's intent and timing of the legislation. Ford criticized the ruling, contending that its only supporters were a "small group of left-wing councillors looking to continue their free ride on the taxpayers' dollar and a network of activist groups who have entrenched their power under the status quo."


2018 Toronto municipal election, Ward boundary adjustment, Reduction of wards
The Ford government introduced the Efficient Local Government Act, also known as Bill 31, on September 12, 2018. The bill would have invoked Section 33 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, also known as the notwithstanding clause, to implement the effects of Bill 5 in defiance of the court ruling. If passed, it would have been the first time that the notwithstanding clause had ever been invoked in Ontario.


2018 Toronto municipal election, Ward boundary adjustment, Reduction of wards
The Toronto city council voted 29–7 in favour of directing the city solicitor to challenge the new legislation in court, and to ask the federal government to invoke a constitutional clause allowing it to disallow provincial legislation (a mechanism only used once since 1943) should it pass. At a Liberal Party caucus retreat in Saskatoon, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stated that he would not contribute to the discussions surrounding the sizes of municipal governments in Ontario, as it was "[not] a role that the federal government needs to take on".


2018 Toronto municipal election, Ward boundary adjustment, Reduction of wards
On September 19, 2018, the Court of Appeal for Ontario issued a stay on the previous Superior Court decision, ruling that Bill 5 "disrupted the campaigns that were already underway" but "does not limit or restrict any message the candidates wish to convey to voters", and was a "dubious ruling that invalidates legislation duly passed by the legislature". As such, the election would be required to use the 25-ward alignment mandated by Bill 5. Since it was made redundant by the stay, Bill 31 was also withdrawn. The nomination period was reopened as a result of the stay and closed on September 21, 2018.


2018 Toronto shooting
The 2018 Toronto shooting, known locally as the Danforth shooting, was a mass shooting that occurred on Danforth Avenue in the Greektown neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on the night of July 22, 2018. Faisal Hussain killed two people and wounded thirteen using a Smith & Wesson M&P .40-calibre handgun. He committed suicide after a shootout with Toronto Police Service (TPS) officers. Despite a year long investigation, authorities were unable to determine a motive for the shooting.


2018 Toronto shooting, Incident
Around 10:00 p.m. EDT on July 22, 2018, Faisal Hussain walked along Toronto's busy Danforth Avenue in the Greektown area of the city, randomly shooting pedestrians before opening fire on crowded restaurants. The incident began around Danforth and Logan avenues near the restaurant named Christina's. Witnesses described 10 to 15 blasts similar to firecrackers, while others reported hearing gunshots and seeing a man holding a gun. Further along the Danforth at Chester Avenue, witnesses said they saw a man shooting from a sidewalk into another restaurant named Demetre's.


2018 Toronto shooting, Incident
The shooter continued to walk westbound on Danforth Avenue towards Hampton Avenue, where witnesses said the shooter crossed the street from the north side to the south side and fired into the 7Numbers restaurant near Bowden Street where one victim was shot. The shooter chose not to shoot certain people he encountered, telling one man, "Don't worry, I'm not going to shoot you." TPS officers responded to calls from witnesses and located the gunman on Bowden Street and initiated a shootout with the suspect. The gunman ran back to Danforth Avenue where he was found dead.


2018 Toronto shooting, Incident
At the corner of Danforth and Logan avenues, police cordoned off an area from bystanders and detonated an unidentified package for undisclosed reasons.


2018 Toronto shooting, Victims
18-year-old Reese Fallon and 10-year-old Julianna Kozis were killed in the attack.


2018 Toronto shooting, Victims
Thirteen others suffered gunshot wounds, ranging in age from 17 to 59. Toronto Paramedic Services transported eight victims to trauma centres – including four people to St. Michael's Hospital, three to Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and one to The Hospital for Sick Children. St. Michael's reported it was treating five patients. Three of them underwent immediate lifesaving surgery after the shooting and the others were in serious but stable condition.


2018 Toronto shooting, Victims
Two gunshot victims were treated at the nearby Michael Garron Hospital and were in stable condition. Five other patients were treated for issues related to the shooting, but were not shot.


2018 Toronto shooting, Perpetrator
The Special Investigations Unit (SIU) identified the perpetrator as 29-year-old Faisal Hussain.


2018 Toronto shooting, Perpetrator
Hussain was born to Canadian parents of Pakistani origin according to people who knew the family. In a public statement, Hussain's parents said that he was psychotic and depressed throughout his life. In 2010, Hussain told a friend that he was seeing a psychiatrist about these problems. A former teacher described him as "very disturbed" and recounted having to take him to a psychiatric facility after he started carving into his face with the blade of a pencil sharpener. Another former teacher called the police after Hussain allegedly said, without prompting, that "it would be really cool to kill someone."


2018 Toronto shooting, Perpetrator
His family had been struggling through the death of his sister in a car accident and his brother's ongoing coma after an overdose or a stroke. According to a neighbour, Hussain was not religious and declined to participate in Friday prayers. According to his brother, Hussain had "started attending a mosque with his father, but did not seem that interested in religion."


2018 Toronto shooting, Perpetrator
In 2010, Hussain was investigated by TPS under the provincial Mental Health Act. On July 24, 2018, the Ministry of Public Safety said there is currently no connection between him and national security. He was not on any federal watchlists. Some news reports suggested Hussain was inspired by Elliot Rodger and the incel ideology.


2018 Toronto shooting, Investigation
In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, police did not identify a motive, saying that they were investigating "every possible motive, including terrorism." In June 2019, authorities finished a year long investigation and could not determine a motive for the attack. Regarding the motive, Toronto police chief Mark Saunders said "we may never know why".


2018 Toronto shooting, Investigation
On July 23, police executed a search warrant at Hussain's residence in the Thorncliffe Park neighbourhood of the city. A day later, CBS News published that, according to a law enforcement source, Hussain visited ISIL websites which may have expressed his support for the Islamic militant group; he was also speculated to have previously lived in Afghanistan and Pakistan, but the investigation has revealed that his actions did not appear to be directed by ISIL.


2018 Toronto shooting, Investigation
On July 25, Amaq News Agency, citing a "security source", stated that he was "from the soldiers of Islamic State", yet Toronto Police said there was no evidence of an ISIL connection. Amarnath Amarasingam of the London-based Institute for Strategic Dialogue doubted Amaq's claim and said it may have been prompted by the CBS News article.


2018 Toronto shooting, Investigation
Since Hussain was found dead after a shootout, the SIU looked into whether he was shot by police or shot himself. On July 23, it removed a police cruiser from the scene and said the two officers in it were being investigated for their roles in the shootout. Hussain's handgun was also seized. On July 25, a police source told CBC News that Hussain committed suicide. The same day, a police source told CP24 that the gun was from the United States and had been obtained from a "gang-related source". A police source later told CTV News it had been stolen in 2015 during a Saskatoon burglary. It may have come to Hussain from his brother who lived at a house in Toronto's eastern suburb of Pickering where 33 guns were seized in 2017.


2018 Toronto shooting, Aftermath
Residents and business owners in the area started a crowdfunding campaign for funeral expenses of victims who died. Meanwhile, the Canadian Blood Services said that they were closely monitoring response efforts and were encouraging donations in the aftermath of the shooting.


2018 Toronto shooting, Aftermath
The Toronto International Film Festival cancelled an event to promote its planned film slate out of respect for those affected by the shooting.


2018 Toronto shooting, Reactions
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Ralph Goodale tweeted their condemnation of the shooting and praise of the police. Ontario premier Doug Ford described the attack as "the most brazen shooting" of a year full of gun violence. Toronto Mayor John Tory called the shooting an "unspeakable act" and an attack on a city with a gun problem. He said he planned to discuss public safety and the legality of guns with provincial and federal officials.


2018 Toronto shooting, Reactions
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Greece expressed solidarity and condolence with the city's Greektown. Calvary Church, located near the site of the shooting, held a prayer vigil, joined by a congregation from the nearby Madinah Mosque.


2018 Toronto shooting, Reactions
The family of Faisal Hussain released a statement expressing "our deepest condolences to the families who are now suffering on account of our son's horrific actions".


2018 Toronto shooting, Reactions
Several sports teams and athletes showed their support on social media with the #TorontoStrong hashtag, which was also used after the van attack in North York City Centre in April 2018.


2018 Toulon Tournament
The 2018 Toulon Tournament (officially French: 46ème Festival International "Espoirs" – Tournoi Maurice Revello) was the 46th edition of the Toulon Tournament. It was held in the department of Bouches-du-Rhône from 26 May to 9 June 2018.


2018 Toulon Tournament
England won the tournament for the third successive year beating Mexico 2–1 in the final.


2018 Toulon Tournament, Matches rules
Every match consisted of two periods of 40 minutes each. In a match, every team had nine named substitutes and the maximum number of substitutions permitted was four. In the knockout stage, if a game tied at the end of regulation time, extra time would not be played and the penalty shoot-out would be used to determine the winner.


2018 Toulon Tournament, Group stage
The draw was held on 15 March 2018. The twelve teams were drawn into three groups of four. The group winners and the best runners-up qualified for the semi-finals. The Group stage was played from 26 May to 3 June 2018.


2018 Toulon Tournament, Classification matches
The eliminated teams played another game to determine their final ranking in the competition.


2018 Toulon Tournament, Goalscorers
68 goals were scored in 26 matches, for an average of 2.62 goals per match.


2018 Toulon Tournament, Awards, Individual awards
After the final, the following players were rewarded for their performances during the competition.


2018 Toulon Tournament, Awards, Best XI
The best XI team was a squad consisting of the eleven most impressive players at the tournament.


2018 Toulon Tournament squads
The 2018 Toulon Tournament was an international association football tournament held in Bouches-du-Rhône, France. The twelve national teams involved in the tournament were required to register a squad of 20 players; only players in these squads were eligible to take part in the tournament.


2018 Tour Challenge
The 2018 Tour Challenge was held from November 6 to 11 at the Tournament Centre in Thunder Bay, Ontario. This was the third Grand Slam of the 2018–19 curling season.


2018 Tour Challenge
In the men's Tier 1 competition, Brad Jacobs defeated Brendan Bottcher in the final 6–5. Team Bottcher was playing in their first Grand Slam final. In Tier 2, Kirk Muyres defeated Scott McDonald's team in the final to secure a spot in the 2019 Canadian Open.


2018 Tour Challenge
The women's Tier 1 competition saw Rachel Homan defeat Tracy Fleury 8–4. In the Tier 2 final, Elena Stern beat Sayaka Yoshimura 6–5, qualifying for the 2019 Canadian Open.


2018 Tour Challenge, Qualification
The Tour Challenge consists of two tiers of 15 teams. For Tier 1, the top 15 teams on the World Curling Tour's Order of Merit rankings as of October 1, 2018. If any teams declined, the next highest team was invited until the field of 15 teams was complete. For Tier 2, the next 10 teams on the OOM rankings are invited. The final 5 teams in Tier 2 are filled by regional invitations extended by the Grand Slam of Curling.


2018 Tour Challenge, Qualification, Men
Top Order of Merit men's teams as of October 1:


2018 Tour Challenge, Qualification, Women
Top Order of Merit women's teams as of October 1:


2018 Tour Challenge, Men, Tier 1, Round robin results
All draw times are listed in Eastern Daylight time (UTC-4).


2018 Tour Challenge, Women, Tier 1, Round robin results
All draw times are listed in Eastern Daylight time (UTC-4).


2018 Tour Cycliste Féminin International de l'Ardèche
The 2018 Tour Cycliste Féminin International de l'Ardèche is a women's cycle stage race held in France  from 13 September to 18 September, 2018. The tour has an UCI rating of 2.1.


2018 Tour Down Under
The 2018 Tour Down Under was a road cycling stage race, that took place between 16 and 21 January 2018 in and around Adelaide, South Australia. It was the 20th edition of the Tour Down Under and the first race of the 2018 UCI World Tour.


2018 Tour Down Under
Daryl Impey (Mitchelton–Scott) became the first South African rider to win the race overall, after edging out BMC Racing Team's Richie Porte on countback after both riders completed the course in the same time. Porte won on Willunga Hill for the fifth year in succession, but Impey finished eight seconds in arrears in second position, which was enough to take the ochre jersey. The podium placings were completed by another former winner, Tom-Jelte Slagter of Team Dimension Data, who finished third on Willunga Hill, taking four bonus seconds that put him ahead of the four other competitors that he had finished with; Slagter finished 16 seconds down on Impey overall.


2018 Tour Down Under
In the race's other classifications, world champion Peter Sagan (Bora–Hansgrohe) won the sprints classification, taking five top-five stage finishes during the event, including a stage win into Uraidla. Team Dimension Data's Nicholas Dlamini led the mountains classification from start to finish, while Egan Bernal of Team Sky took the young rider classification in his first start for the team, finishing sixth overall. The teams classification was won by Bahrain–Merida, who placed Gorka Izagirre in the top-ten overall.


2018 Tour Down Under, Participating teams
As the Tour Down Under was a UCI World Tour event, all eighteen UCI WorldTeams were invited automatically and obliged to enter a team in the race. One other team was given a wildcard entry into the race: UniSA–Australia. Each team was due to enter seven riders, for a total of 133 participants. However, Lotto–Soudal withdrew Bjorg Lambrecht from the race following an error with the UCI's anti-doping procedures, while Team Sky lost Kristoffer Halvorsen following a crash in the closing metres of the People's Choice Classic, which resulted in a fractured hand. As a result, 131 riders started the race.


2018 Tour Down Under, Participating teams
Among the field were seven previous winners of the race, three of whom – Rohan Dennis, Simon Gerrans and Richie Porte – were racing for the BMC Racing Team. Other previous winners in the field were Luis León Sánchez (Astana), Lotto–Soudal rider André Greipel, Tom-Jelte Slagter of Team Dimension Data, and Mitchelton–Scott's Cameron Meyer.


2018 Tour Down Under, Route
The route of the 2018 Tour Down Under was announced at the beginning of July 2017 and centred around the city of Adelaide in South Australia. There were six mass-start road stages and no time trials. Two days before the start of the Tour, there was a flat criterium race, the People's Choice Classic, which took place in Rymill Park and which was suited for the sprinters. It was won by world champion Peter Sagan (Bora–Hansgrohe) in a sprint finish.


2018 Tour Down Under, Route
The opening stage started in Port Adelaide, which hosted the race for the first time since the inaugural Tour Down Under in 1999. The fifth stage finished with two climbs of Willunga Hill, which had been decisive in previous editions of the race. The final stage was another criterium around the centre of Adelaide.


2018 Tour Down Under, Route
After stage two, it was announced that the third stage would be shortened due to forecasted high temperatures. Two of the three finishing circuits around Victor Harbor were removed from the itinerary, reducing the racing to 120.5 km (75 mi).


2018 Tour Down Under, Classification leadership table
In the 2018 Tour Down Under, four different jerseys were awarded. For the general classification, calculated by adding each cyclist's finishing times on each stage, and allowing time bonuses for the first three finishers at intermediate sprints and at the finish of mass-start stages, the leader received an ochre jersey. This classification was considered the most important of the 2018 Tour Down Under, and the winner of the classification was considered the winner of the race.


2018 Tour Down Under, Classification leadership table
Additionally, there was a sprints classification, which awarded a green jersey, a change from red in 2017. In the sprints classification, cyclists received points for finishing in the top 10 in a stage. For winning a stage, a rider earned 15 points, with one point fewer per place down to 6 points for 10th place. Points towards the classification could also be accrued at intermediate sprint points during each stage; these intermediate sprints also offered bonus seconds towards the general classification. There was also a mountains classification, the leadership of which was marked by a white jersey with navy polka dots. In the mountains classification, points were won by reaching the top of a climb before other cyclists, with more points available for the higher-categorised climbs.


2018 Tour Down Under, Classification leadership table
The fourth jersey represented the young rider classification, marked by a white jersey. This was decided in the same way as the general classification, but only riders born after 1 January 1994 were eligible to be ranked in the classification. There was also a classification for teams, in which the times of the best three cyclists per team on each stage were added together; the leading team at the end of the race was the team with the lowest total time. In addition, there was a combativity award given after each stage to the rider(s) considered, by a jury, to have "instigated the most attacks, breakaways or assisted their teammates to the best advantage".


2018 Tour La Provence
The 2018 Tour La Provence was a road cycling stage race that took place between 8 and 11 February 2018. The race was rated as a 2.1 event as part of the 2018 UCI Europe Tour, and was the third edition of the Tour La Provence.


2018 Tour La Provence
The race was won by French rider Alexandre Geniez, of the AG2R La Mondiale.


2018 Tour La Provence, Teams
Sixteen teams were invited to start the race. These included two UCI WorldTeams, eight UCI Professional Continental teams and six UCI Continental teams.


2018 Tour La Provence, Classification leadership table
In the 2018 Tour La Provence, four different jerseys were awarded for the main classifications. For the general classification, calculated by adding each cyclist's finishing times on each stage, the leader received a blue jersey. This classification was considered the most important of the 2018 Tour La Provence, and the winner of the classification was considered the winner of the race.


2018 Tour La Provence, Classification leadership table
Additionally, there was a points classification, which awarded a green jersey. In the points classification, cyclists received points for finishing in the top 15 in a mass-start stage. For winning a stage, a rider earned 25 points, with 20 for second, 16 for third, 13 for fourth, 11 for fifth with a point fewer per place down to a single point for 15th place. Points towards the classification could also be accrued at intermediate sprint points during each stage. There was also a mountains classification, the leadership of which was marked by a red jersey.


2018 Tour La Provence, Classification leadership table
In the mountains classification, points were won by reaching the top of a climb before other cyclists, with more points available for the higher-categorised climbs. The fourth jersey represented the young rider classification, marked by a white jersey. This was decided in the same way as the general classification, but only riders born after 1 January 1995 were eligible to be ranked in the classification.


2018 Tour La Provence, Classification leadership table
Additional jerseys were also awarded for the best rider in the overall classification from the Provence region (grey jersey), the most combative rider (black jersey) and the rider placed highest cumulatively across the general, points and mountains classification (multi-coloured jersey).


2018 Tour de Corse
The 2018 Tour de Corse (formally known as the Corsica Linea – Tour de Corse 2018) was a motor racing event for rally cars that was held over four days between 5 and 8 April 2018. It marked the sixty-first running of the Tour de Corse and the fourth round of the 2018 World Rally Championship and its support categories, the WRC-2 and WRC-3 championships. It was also the second round of the Junior World Rally Championship. The event was based in the town of Bastia in Corsica, and was contested over twelve special stages totalling a competitive distance of 333.48 km (207.21 mi).


2018 Tour de Corse
Thierry Neuville and Nicolas Gilsoul were the defending rally winners. Their team, Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT, were the defending manufacturers' winners. Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia were the rally winners. Their team, M-Sport Ford WRT, were the manufacturers' winners. The Škoda Motorsport II crew of Jan Kopecký and Pavel Dresler won the World Rally Championship-2 category in a Škoda Fabia R5, while local crew Jean-Baptiste Franceschi and Romain Courbon won the World Rally Championship-3 and Junior World Rally Championship.


2018 Tour de Corse, Background, Championship standings prior to the event
Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia entered the round with a four-point lead in the World Championships for Drivers and Co-drivers. In the World Championship for Manufacturers, Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT held a twelve-point lead over M-Sport Ford WRT.


2018 Tour de Corse, Background, Route
The route of the 2018 event was substantially revised, with only two of the stages—La Porta – Valle di Rostino and Novella—carried over from the 2017 rally. The event was based in Bastia, which hosted the rally for the first time since 1978.


2018 Tour de Corse, Background, Entry list
The following crews were entered into the rally. The event was open to crews competing in the World Rally Championship, World Rally Championship-2, and the World Rally Championship-3. The final entry list consisted of fourteen World Rally Cars, eleven World Rally Championship-2 entries, and fifteen World Rally Championship-3 entries, fourteen of which were eligible to score points in the Junior World Rally Championship.


2018 Tour de Corse, Report, Pre-event
In the week before the rally, the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) approved a rule change affecting the Power Stage. Any crew checking in late to the Power Stage will forfeit the opportunity to score bonus championship points in the Power Stage. The changes were introduced in response to a controversy that arose in previous rallies where crews deliberately checked in late, incurring time penalties but securing a preferable road position, thereby improving their chances of scoring bonus points.


2018 Tour de Corse, Report, Pre-event
Elfyn Evans' co-driver Daniel Barritt was replaced by Phil Mills as Barritt did not recover from an accident in Rally Mexico in time for the Tour de Corse.


2018 Tour de Corse, Report, Pre-event
Citroën's new R5 variant of the C3 WRC made its competitive début in the WRC-2 class during the rally.


2018 Tour de Corse, Report, Thursday
Thursday in Corsica only requires crews to complete a Shakedown. Kris Meeke and Paul Nagle won the stage, over two seconds faster than the Norwegian Andreas Mikkelsen. Last year winner Thierry Neuville finished third, half a second faster than teammate Dani Sordo. Current championship leader Sébastien Ogier was fifth. From sixth to tenth were Elfyn Evans, Sébastien Loeb, Ott Tänak, Jari-Matti Latvala and Esapekka Lappi respectively.


2018 Tour de Corse, Report, Friday
Defending world champion Sébastien Ogier was absolutely flying in Friday. He set three fastest stage times out of four and built a lead of over half a minute over the last year winner Thierry Neuville, who was struggling with the brakes. Nine-time world champion Sébastien Loeb, competing in the second of three guest appearances, carried too much pace into a left corner 400 metres after the start and dropped into a deep ditch. The rest stage won by Esapekka Lappi, who finished the day in fifth place, just less than one second ahead of Elfyn Evans and Dani Sordo.


2018 Tour de Corse, Report, Friday
Kris Meeke, who suffered intermittent intercom problems in his C3, was third, 5.5 seconds ahead of Ott Tänak, who also had handling problems at the rear of his Toyota Yaris. Finland's Jari-Matti Latvala lacked confidence in his Toyota Yaris in eighth. Another 4.2 seconds behind was Andreas Mikkelsen. The Norwegian lost much time with a spin at the first corner in the opening stage and a brief trip into a ditch this morning, issues compounded by understeer when he tried to have a push this afternoon. Local man Bryan Bouffier completed the leaderboard in a Fiesta.


2018 Tour de Corse, Report, Saturday
Championship leader Sébastien Ogier ended the day with a 44.5 seconds advantage over Thierry Neuville. Ott Tänak snatching position by a tenth of a second from the Belgium in the final Novella test, as Kris Meeke crashed his Citroën C3 into retirement after mishearing a pace note. Esapekka Lappi was another 10.3 seconds behind in fourth place. Dani Sordo and Elfyn Evans were evenly matched all day. The Spaniard ended fifth in his i20, with a 3.1-second advantage over the Welshman who lost time after stalling his Fiesta's engine and being too hesitant on the tricky mountain roads.


2018 Tour de Corse, Report, Saturday
Andreas Mikkelsen was bothered by understeering this weekend. He finished seventh, ahead of WRC 2 category leader Jan Kopecký. Jari-Matti Latvala retired his Yaris from eighth after slamming the rear into a tree and Bryan Bouffier went out with engine problems in his Fiesta, while nine-time world champion Sébastien Loeb, returning after yesterday's crash, won three stages in his C3. WRC 2 driver Fabio Andolfi and Ole Christian Veiby completed the provisional leaderboard in Škoda Fabia R5s.


2018 Tour de Corse, Report, Sunday
Sébastien Ogier led the Corsica linea - Tour de Corse from start to finish to win the three-day asphalt fixture by 36.1 seconds in his Ford Fiesta. Ott Tänak finished second in a Toyota Yaris, with Thierry Neuville, who suffered an engine issue at the power Stage, running out of the podium. Teammate Dani Sordo finished fourth after another consistent weekend, just 3.5 seconds ahead of Elfyn Evans. There was final day heartbreak for Esapekka Lappi.


2018 Tour de Corse, Report, Sunday
The Finn thrust himself into the fight for second yesterday, but his hopes were shattered when he hit a kerb and stopped to change a punctured tyre. He eventually plunged to seventh, but salvaged maximum bonus points by winning the final power Stage in his Yaris as well as overhauling Andreas Mikkelsen to climb to sixth. WRC 2 winner Jan Kopecký finished eighth ahead of Kris Meeke, who restarted today after Saturday's accident, with Yoann Bonato completed the top ten.


2018 Tour de Corse, Classification, Top ten finishers
The following crews finished the rally in each class's top ten.


2018 Tour de Corse, Classification, Other notable finishers
The following notable crews finished the rally outside top ten.


2018 Tour de Corse, Classification, Power stage
The Power stage was a 16.25 km stage at the end of the rally. Additional World Championship points were awarded to the five fastest crews.


2018 Tour de Corse, Classification, J-WRC stage winning crews
Junior World Rally Championship crews scored additional points. Each of the fastest stage time was awarded with one bonus point.


2018 Tour de Corse, Classification, Penalties
The following notable crews were given time penalty during the rally.


2018 Tour de Corse, Classification, Retirements
The following notable crews retired from the event. Under Rally2 regulations, they were eligible to re-enter the event starting from the next leg. Crews that re-entered were given an additional time penalty.


2018 Tour de France
The 2018 Tour de France was the 105th edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's three Grand Tours. The 3,351 km (2,082 mi)-long race consisted of 21 stages, starting on 7 July in Noirmoutier-en-l'Île, in western France, and concluding on 29 July with the Champs-Élysées stage in Paris. A total of 176 riders from 22 teams participated in the race. The overall general classification was won by Geraint Thomas of Team Sky. Tom Dumoulin (Team Sunweb) placed second, with Thomas's teammate and four-time Tour winner Chris Froome coming third.


2018 Tour de France
The opening stage was won by Fernando Gaviria of Quick-Step Floors, who became the Tour's first rider to wear the general classification leader's yellow jersey. Peter Sagan (Bora–Hansgrohe) then took the race lead on the following stage. BMC Racing Team won stage three's team time trial, putting their rider Greg Van Avermaet in yellow. He held the jersey for eight days until the second stage of the three Alpine stages, which Thomas won and took the lead in. He successfully defended it from Dumoulin for the rest of the Tour, which included three stages in the Pyrenees and the penultimate stage's individual time trial, the latter won by Dumoulin.


2018 Tour de France
Sagan, who won three stages, was placed first in the points classification for the sixth time. Julian Alaphilippe of Quick-Step Floors, winner of two mountain stages, won the mountains classification, and AG2R La Mondiale's Pierre Latour won the young rider classification. The team classification was won by Movistar Team, and Dan Martin of UAE Team Emirates won the combativity award.


2018 Tour de France, Teams
The 2018 edition of the Tour de France consisted of 22 teams. The race was the 25th of the 37 events in the UCI World Tour, and all of its eighteen UCI WorldTeams were entitled, and obliged, to enter the race. On 6 January 2018, organisers of the Tour, the Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO), announced the four second-tier UCI Professional Continental teams that received a wildcard invitation to participate in the event. The four teams were Cofidis, Direct Énergie, Fortuneo–Samsic, from France, and Belgium's Wanty–Groupe Gobert, all of which have participated in the race before.


2018 Tour de France, Teams
This meant that new French team Vital Concept, with their team leader, sprinter Bryan Coquard, missed out on the race. The presentation of the teams – where the members of each team's roster are introduced in front of the media and local dignitaries – took place on Place Napoleon in the town of La Roche-sur-Yon on 5 July, two days before the opening stage.


2018 Tour de France, Teams
New rules by the cycling's governing body, the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), reduced the number of riders per team for Grand Tours from 9 to 8, resulting in a start list total of 176, instead of 198, which had been the number of starters since 2010. Of these, 35 competed in their first Tour de France. The riders came from 30 countries. Seven countries had more than 10 riders in the race: France (35), Belgium (19), the Netherlands (13), Italy (13), Australia (11), Germany (11) and Spain (11). The average age of riders in the race was 29.37 years, ranging from the 21-year-old Egan Bernal (Team Sky) to the 40-year-old Franco Pellizotti (Bahrain–Merida). Groupama–FDJ had the youngest average age while Bahrain–Merida had the oldest.


2018 Tour de France, Pre-race favourites
In the lead up to the Tour, the favourite for the general classification was Chris Froome of Team Sky. Froome had won the 2013, 2015, 2016 and 2017 editions of the Tour, and was also the current defending champion at both other Grand Tours, the Vuelta a España and the Giro d'Italia.


2018 Tour de France, Pre-race favourites
However, Froome's participation was unconfirmed due to an ongoing anti-doping investigation that began in December 2017, when it was announced that he had returned a urine sample taken at the Vuelta (which had taken place two months earlier) which contained twice his allowed amount of the asthma drug salbutamol. This was considered not as a positive doping result, but as an "Adverse Analytical Finding" (AAF), meaning that he was allowed to continue racing until the case was resolved. He did however face the possibility of losing his Vuelta victory and all subsequent results.


2018 Tour de France, Pre-race favourites
The ASO were unhappy with the situation, which was very similar to that of the 2011 Tour pre-race favourite Alberto Contador, who started the tour with his case over a positive test for clenbuterol still unresolved. The UCI conducted an investigation into the AAF, which was still unresolved at the time that Froome won the Giro in May 2018.


2018 Tour de France, Pre-race favourites
With an outcome before the start of the Tour unlikely, the ASO attempted to bar Froome from starting the race, citing article 28 of the race's rules, saying that the organiser "expressly reserves the right to refuse participation in – or to exclude from – the event, a team or any of its members whose presence would be such as to damage the image or reputation of ASO or the event".


2018 Tour de France, Pre-race favourites
Froome was cleared by the UCI on 2 July, five days before the start of the Tour, with a press statement reading that the authorities had found sufficient evidence "that Mr Froome's sample results do not constitute an AAF". He was thereafter cleared to start the Tour by the ASO as well.


2018 Tour de France, Pre-race favourites
The closest rivals of Froome were thought to be Romain Bardet (AG2R La Mondiale), Tom Dumoulin (Team Sunweb), Mikel Landa (Movistar Team), Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain–Merida), Richie Porte (BMC Racing Team), Nairo Quintana (Movistar Team) and Adam Yates (Mitchelton–Scott). Porte's best result in the Tour was fifth overall in 2016. He had shown his form so far in the 2018 season by winning the general classification of Tour de Suisse. Although Quintana had placed twelfth overall in the 2017 Tour, his 2018 season so far had been consistent and he had finished second behind Froome in previous Tours.


2018 Tour de France, Pre-race favourites
He came to the Tour with a strong team, which included contender Landa, who in 2018 had moved to Movistar from Sky after being a domestique for Froome. The 2017 Giro winner Dumoulin placed second in the 2018 Giro. Nibali had recently won the classic Milan–San Remo, one of cycling's five one-day race "monuments". He had however failed to impress in the stage races leading up to the Tour, finishing 24th in the Critérium du Dauphiné after finishing outside the top 10 in the general classifications at Dubai Tour, Tour of Oman and the Tirreno-Adriaticoo.


2018 Tour de France, Pre-race favourites
He was the only rider on the start list apart from Froome to have won a Tour, the 2014 edition. Bardet finished second and third overall in the two previous Tours and placed third in the Critérium du Dauphiné leading up to the 2018 Tour. Yates' best overall Tour result was fourth 2016; he had shown his form during the season before the Tour with top-five placings in four stage races, including second in the Dauphiné.


2018 Tour de France, Pre-race favourites
Some of the other riders considered as contenders for the general classification were Dan Martin (UAE Team Emirates), Alejandro Valverde (Movistar Team), Rigoberto Urán (EF Education First–Drapac p/b Cannondale), Geraint Thomas (Team Sky) and Primož Roglič (LottoNL–Jumbo).


2018 Tour de France, Pre-race favourites
The sprinters considered favourites for the points classification and wins on the flat or hilly bunch sprint finishes were Peter Sagan (Bora–Hansgrohe), Michael Matthews (Team Sunweb), Fernando Gaviria (Quick-Step Floors), Marcel Kittel (Team Katusha–Alpecin), Mark Cavendish (Team Dimension Data), Dylan Groenewegen (LottoNL–Jumbo), Arnaud Démare (Groupama–FDJ) and André Greipel (Lotto–Soudal). Others expected to contend for sprint finishes included  Greg Van Avermaet (BMC Racing Team), Alexander Kristoff (UAE Team Emirates), Sonny Colbrelli (Bahrain–Merida), Nacer Bouhanni (Groupama–FDJ) and John Degenkolb (Trek–Segafredo).


2018 Tour de France, Pre-race favourites
Triple reigning world road race champion Sagan had won the five previous points classifications of the Tour before his 2017 Tour disqualification after race officials judged that he caused Cavendish to crash. Sagan was again aiming to equal Erik Zabel's record of six points classifications. He was in good form during the season before the Tour, winning the one-day races Paris–Roubaix and Gent–Wevelgem, multiple top ten results one-day races and two points classifications in stage races.


2018 Tour de France, Pre-race favourites
Matthews, who won the 2017 Tour's points classification, suffered an early season injury and his sole win for the season was at the Tour de Romandie. Kittel had won fourteen Tour stages, five in 2017, gained two wins so far in 2018, both at the Tirreno–Adriatico. Debutant Gaviria had been second to Kittel at Quick-Step Floors before the latter moved to Team Katusha–Alpecin for the 2018 season. Gaviria amassed a total of seven wins so far in 2018, and additionally the points classification at the Tour of California.


2018 Tour de France, Pre-race favourites
The 2011 points classification winner Cavendish's win at the Dubai Tour in February was his only of 2018 so far. Winner of the 2017 Tour's final stage Groenewegen had a total of nine victories for the season going into the Tour, with one coming at Paris–Nice. Démare, who led the points classification in the 2017 Tour, had gained two wins at Paris–Nice and the Tour de Suisse in 2018 before the Tour. Greipel, who turned 36 during the Tour, had taken six wins at stage races during 2018 before the Tour, as well as the points classification of the Tour of Belgium.


2018 Tour de France, Route and stages
On 12 February 2017, at a rugby union match between France and Scotland at Paris's Stade de France, race director Christian Prudhomme announced the opening stages of the 2018 Tour (known as the Grand Départ) would take place in the Vendée department, in the Pays de la Loire region. Since the inaugural Tour in 1903, the Vendée has hosted the Grand Départ five times, with the last in 2011. Two weeks after the announcement, the ASO revealed that the Grand Départ would take place over three stages, with the third a team time trial.


2018 Tour de France, Route and stages
In June 2017, the UCI's Professional Cycling Council (PCC) moved the start of the Tour a week later than usual and originally planned due to a clash with the 2018 FIFA World Cup. The full route was announced on 17 October 2017; it was almost completely within France, with short deviations into Spain in the Pyrenees the only exceptions. Two of the Tour's most historic climbs featured, Alpe d'Huez and the Col du Tourmalet, which last featured in 2015 and 2016 respectively.


2018 Tour de France, Route and stages
Notable was stage nine's 21.7 km (13.5 mi) of sett paving, split across fifteen sectors, a feature that was last seen in the 2015 Tour. It finished in Roubaix, home of the "monument" race Paris–Roubaix. For the first time in 60 to 70 years, it included a section of unpaved roads on the Glières Plateau. Overall, the route was thought to offer something for all rider types.


2018 Tour de France, Route and stages
Stage one began in the village of Noirmoutier-en-l'Île on the island of Noirmoutier, before heading along the coast of the Vendée department. The following two stages were loops, with the third taking the route north into the Maine-et-Loire department. The next three stages took place in the region of Brittany, ending with two laps of the short, but steep, climb in Mûr-de-Bretagne. The seventh, eighth and ninth stages headed north-east with finishes in Chartres, Amiens and Roubaix, respectively. A long transfer then moved the race to the Alps.


2018 Tour de France, Route and stages
Following three stages in the mountains, the Tour descended into the Drôme department and stage thirteen's finish in the city of Valence. The Massif Central highland region hosted stage fourteen, with the finish in Mende. The next two transitional stages took the race south-west to the Pyrenees across a continuous journey between Millau, Carcassonne and Bagnères-de-Luchon. After two Pyrenean stages, the eighteenth stage took place in the foothills between Trie-sur-Baïse to Pau. The next stage headed back into the mountains, before the penultimate stage, which took place close to the west coast in the French Basque Country. A long transfer took the Tour to its conclusion in Paris with the Champs-Élysées stage.


2018 Tour de France, Route and stages
There were 21 stages in the race, covering a total distance of 3,351 km (2,082 mi), the shortest of the 21st century up to that point. There were two time trial events, stage three's 35.5 km (22 mi) team time trial and stage twenty's 31 km (19 mi) individual time trial. Of the remaining nineteen stages, eight were officially classified as flat, five as hilly and six as mountainous. The longest mass-start stage was stage seven, at 231 km (144 mi), and the shortest was stage seventeen, at 65 km (40 mi).


2018 Tour de France, Route and stages
The aforementioned, a mountain stage, was the shortest since 1996 and began with a standing start grid formation, with positions based on riders general classification ranking. The grid formation was an innovation for the Tour, and with shorter distance, was beforehand universally welcomed, but it was thought to have made little effect on the race. There were summit finishes on stages stage eleven to La Rosière, stage twelve to Alpe d’Huez, and stage seventeen to the Col de Portet.


2018 Tour de France, Route and stages
The highest point of elevation in the race was the 2,215 m (7,267 ft)-high Col de Portet Pyrenean pass, the first time it had been used in the Tour. It was among nine hors catégorie (English: "beyond category") rated climbs in the race. There were nine new stage start or finish locations. The rest days were after stage nine, in Annecy, and fifteen, in Carcassonne.


2018 Tour de France, Race overview, First week: Northern stages
Stage one's bunch sprint was won by Fernando Gaviria, with Peter Sagan coming in second place and Marcel Kittel in third. Gaviria took the yellow and green jerseys as the leader of the general and points classifications respectively. Breakaway rider Kévin Ledanois (Fortuneo–Samsic) collected the most mountains classification points to take the first polka dot jersey as the leader of the classification. Sagan won stage two from a sprint to take the yellow and green jerseys, with Dion Smith of Wanty–Groupe Gobert claiming the lead in the mountains classification.


2018 Tour de France, Race overview, First week: Northern stages
Stage three's team time trial was won by BMC Racing Team whose riders Tejay van Garderen and Greg Van Avermaet became tied for the overall lead, with Van Avermaet moving into yellow for the second time in his career due to him crossing the finish line ahead of Van Garderen in the first two stages being as there was not yet an individual time trial to measure their times down to the 1000th of a second. Stage four was won by Gaviria from a bunch sprint. Sagan further extended his lead in the points competition by winning stage five's uphill sprint finish in Quimper. Also in stage five, Toms Skujiņš of Trek–Segafredo won the mountains points which gave him the polka dot jersey, becoming the first from Latvia to ever lead the mountains classification.


2018 Tour de France, Race overview, First week: Northern stages
In stage six, which ended atop the Mûr-de-Bretagne climb, Dan Martin attacked with a kilometre remaining and was able to stay away take the victory one second ahead of a large group that the contained the general classification contenders. In the closing kilometres of the stage, Geraint Thomas won a three-second time bonus sprint that brought him to three seconds behind Van Avermaet in the general classification. Overall favourites Romain Bardet and Tom Dumoulin lost time as their tyres punctured late in the stage. The seventh stage was won by Dylan Groenewegen from a bunch sprint.


2018 Tour de France, Race overview, First week: Northern stages
There were multiple crashes in the first week of the Tour with six riders abandoning the race for various reasons, including the 2017 Tour points classification winner Michael Matthews. Groenewegen won a further bunch sprint in the eighth stage. In the sprint, André Greipel and Gaviria were penalised for headbutting each other and lost their stage placing and green jersey points. Stage nine's sett-paving sections caused many issues for the riders, including leading sprinters and two of the classification contenders. Richie Porte abandoned for the second year in a row after crashing in the opening 10 km (6.2 mi).


2018 Tour de France, Race overview, First week: Northern stages
Rigoberto Urán initially tried to continue the race despite injuries sustained during a crash, but was forced to quit the race on the following stage. Chris Froome, his teammate Egan Bernal, Jakob Fuglsang, and Mikel Landa, crashed in the stage along with many other riders; numerous riders had tyre punctures as well, including three for Bardet. His teammate Alexis Vuillermoz was forced to abandon the stage after colliding with a spectator taking photographs.


2018 Tour de France, Race overview, First week: Northern stages
Meanwhile, Yves Lampaert (Quick-Step Floors), John Degenkolb, and Van Avermaet were able escape the remaining riders from the peloton (main group) and together they contested a sprint finish, which was won by Degenkolb. Van Avermaet gained time, as well winning the time bonus sprint, to extend his lead in the general classification. The following day was the Tour's first rest day.


2018 Tour de France, Race overview, Second week: Alps and transition west
The first stage in the high mountains and first in the Alps, the tenth, was won by Quick-Step Floors rider Julian Alaphilippe, who attacked on his own with 30 km (18.6 mi) to go from a large breakaway group that included race leader Van Avermaet. The aforementioned retained the yellow jersey and extended his lead to 2 min 22 s, when pundits predicted the first day in the Alps would be his last as overall race leader. Alaphilippe also took lead of the mountains classification.


2018 Tour de France, Race overview, Second week: Alps and transition west
Thomas achieved back-to-back wins both from the group of overall contenders on stages eleven and twelve by pushing the breakaway riders until the very end. In the steep summit finish of the eleventh, Thomas attacked in the final 1 kilometre (0.6 miles), passing lone breakaway rider Mikel Nieve (Mitchelton–Scott) and managed to distance himself from Froome and Dumoulin by twenty seconds to take the win. On the twelfth stage, which was the final day in the Alps, Thomas won the sprint on the flat finish after the climb to Alpe d'Huez.


2018 Tour de France, Race overview, Second week: Alps and transition west
LottoNL–Jumbo's Steven Kruijswijk was caught by the group of overall contenders in the final kilometres after he had launched a solo attack with 70 km (43.5 mi) remaining. Following the stage, the general classification top three was: Thomas in first position, Froome second, 1 min 39 s down, and Dumoulin third, a further 11 seconds behind. General classification contender Vincenzo Nibali, who was fourth overall, was forced to withdraw from the Tour following the stage after an incident near the summit of Alpe d'huez where he fell off his bike fracturing a vertebra taking Roglic down with him.


2018 Tour de France, Race overview, Second week: Alps and transition west
It was initially suspected that the crash had been caused by a police motorcycle driving in front of him, but it later emerged that he became caught in a spectator's camera strap. Nibali's team management saw the lack of crowd control from the police and spectators lighting flares as contributing factors. Following the incident, Christian Prudhomme appealed to fans to show the riders more respect. Many riders left the Tour during the Alpine stages, either being forced to abandon due to fatigue and injury, or were disqualified for finishing outside the cut-off time; riders of note were the sprinters Mark Cavendish, Gaviria, Greipel, Groenewegen, and Kittel.


2018 Tour de France, Race overview, Second week: Alps and transition west
Sagan won stage thirteen with a surprise attack in the closing meters of the bunch sprint finish, while Alexander Kristoff and Arnaud Démare were together sprinting for the finish line. In stage fourteen, Omar Fraile of Astana launched a late move from the large breakaway after the final climb to win at the Mende aerodrome; the breakaway finished eighteen minutes ahead of the peloton. Stage fifteen, the start of the final week, was once again a breakaway victory, with Magnus Cort taking Astana's second win in two days. The next day was the second rest day of the race.


2018 Tour de France, Race overview, Second week: Alps and transition west
Following the stage, controversy arose around Team Sky rider Gianni Moscon, who had allegedly punched Fortune-Samsic rider Élie Gesbert during the opening part of the stage. After reviewing footage of the incident, the race jury disqualified him for 'particularly serious aggression'. A non-racing incident occurred during the sixteenth stage when hay bales were placed across the road by local farmers protesting about reductions to their subsidies. The police used tear gas to disperse them, and as the riders rode passed this area, there was still gas in the air.


2018 Tour de France, Race overview, Second week: Alps and transition west
The race was subsequently neutralized for about fifteen minutes because several riders had problems with their eyes and had to rinse them. After the restart, a large breakaway escaped, and Philippe Gilbert (Quick-Step Floors), while in the lead on a descent, lost control of his bicycle and crashed into and over a wall. Later, Adam Yates, having taken the lead, also fell. Gilbert finished the stage and collected the most combative rider award, but would not start the following day. Yates carried on, but was overtaken by Alaphilippe, who took his second stage victory.