Lauren Dickson attacked with 4km to go to win the final stage of Faun Tour Femmes 2026, claiming the first professional victory of her career. Her FDJ United-SUEZ team-mate, Juliette Berthet, sealed the overall victory.
The Scottish rider had been distanced due to an acceleration by Niamh Fisher-Black (Lidl-Trek) on the final climb of the day, but caught back up to the lead before attacking solo all the way to the line in Peyrus,.
Berthet finished the stage in second place to claim the second stage race victory of her career. Fisher-Black was third on the stage and second overall after an impressive climbing display. Dickson finished the race in third on general classification.
There was nothing to separate Berthet and Niamh Fisher-Black going into the final stage with the overall classification set to be decided on the final and most mountainous stage of the race.
The 135km course took in two laps of a circuit including the 11.7km Col de Tourniol and the shorter Col de Limouches.
Fisher-Black accelerated away from the FDJ United-SUEZ duo of Berthet and Dickson in the final kilometres of the second pass of the Tourniol. Dickson kept Fisher-Black’s advantage small before closing just before the top of the climb.
The New Zealander tried again on the Col de Limouches, distancing Dickson but not Berthet. Dickson chased back on the descent and attacked off the front with 4km left, building a significant lead as Fisher-Black pursued with Berthet on her wheel.
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Dickson held strong to take the win. Behind, Berthet rounded Fisher-Black in the closing metres to crown a dominant FDJ United-SUEZ performance.
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Dan is a freelance cycling journalist who has written for Cyclingnews since 2023 alongside other work with Cycling Weekly, Rouleur and Escape Collective. Dan focuses much of his work on professional cycling beyond its traditional European heartlands and writes a regular Substack called Global Peloton.
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