As it happened: Tour de France Femmes stage 6 sparks attacks, a GC chase and close sprint finish

Bonjour and welcome to the Cyclingnews live coverage of stage 6 of the Tour de France Femmes.

Like every day, we will have full live coverage, from the sign-on until beyond the finish line, with race updates, analysis, rider quotes and race photographs.

The riders are currently signing on in Montbrison, in the the Loire department in central France, east of Lyon.

Riders always find time for autographs.

This is a detailed stage preview of stage 6.

It is a medium-mountain stage that covers 153.4km, passing through the eastern part of the Massif Central on narrow roads, almost always either climbing or descending.

The 153.4km stage includes 2600m of altitude gain, 6 categorised climbs and many others.

Tour de France Femmes 2026 stage 6: Another hot, hilly day could be one for the breakaway - Preview

Pauline Ferrand-Prévot endured a bad day on stage 5 but is smiling on the sign-on podium today.

This was our story with Pauline Ferrand-Prévot reaction after stage 5.

'I think it's over' – Pauline Ferrand-Prévot admits defeat in Tour de France Femmes title defence after struggles on stage 5

It's another hot day in France, with temperatures for the stage expected to touch 32C.

We're five minutes from the roll-out of the stage in Montbrison.

The riders face 153.4km in the saddle, with a 5km neutralised sector.

We'll have all the action from every km until the finish in Tournon-sur-Rhône.

The race speaker does a countdown ands lets out his long "C'est Parti.....!"

The stage is underway.

It's great to see Chiara Consonni race on despite a nasty crash early on stage 5.

She joked she has less skin but two stitches in her knee.

Following her strong TT and her excellent performance in the hills on stage 5, Marlen Reusser (Movistar) is still in the yellow jersey.

But she has just a 12-second lead on Demi Vollering (FDJ United-Suez) and 1:17 on Katarzyna Niewiadoma-Phinney (Canyon-SRAM).

They will surely fight for every second today before the big show down on Mont Ventoux on Friday.

There are 10, 6 and 4 bonus seconds up for grabs at the finish line in Tournon-sur-Rhône, as well as 6, 4 and 2 seconds at the Bonus Point located at Saint-Barthélemy-le-Plain after 144.2km.

This was the roll out and now the stage has officially started.

No attacks from the moment the start flag was waved.

134 riders start the 6th stage of the 2026 Tour de France Femmes at exactly 13:46.

Two riders did not start: Barbara Malcotti (Human Powered Health) and Monica Trinca Colonel (Liv AlUla Jayco).

For now the race is gruppo compatto but we are expecting attacks.

After the intense racing on stage 5 and with Ventoux coming up on Friday, there is a sense in the peloton that a breakaway might have a chance today.

We expect the first attacks to come on the early climbs.

140km to go

Josie Nelson (Picnic) is the first attacker of the day.

The riders start the double whammy of the 1.4km Côte de Périgneux and the 2.7km Côte de la Prunerie.

Riders are already being dropped as Josie Nelson is caught.

So far the action is at the back of the bunch, rather than the front, with more and more riders dropped.

At the top of the Côte de Périgneux, Puck 'polka-dot' Pieterse again kicks away to score 2 QOM points.

Pieterse took the polka-dot jersey by chance but has now opted to chase every point.

She will have to ride aggressive today and at the weekend to hold off the GC riders, who will score points as they fight for overall victory.

As the Côte de la Prunerie second climb begins, we have some real attacks.

Loes Adegeest (Lidl-Trek), Nikola Nosková (Cofidis), Katrine Aalerud (Uno-X Mobility) have opened a 20-second gap.

Allez!

Sadly the speed means that Eleonora Ciabocco (Picnic) was in pain and she has abandoned.

Loes Adegeest (Lidl-Trek), Nikola Nosková (Cofidis) and Katrine Aalerud (Uno-X Mobility) have pushed their gap ut to 40 seconds.

Puck Pieterse has extended her lead as QOM.

Human Powered Health is leading the peloton, trying to keep the breakaway under control.

This is the attack.

Célia Gery (FDJ United-Suez) accelerates from the peloton.

The peloton is 1:00 behind now.

Other riders are accelerating but Anna Van der Breggen and Marianne Vos have been dropped.

Mental strength is also important in the Tour.

The race is climbing higher into the hills, with the Côte de Praneuf looming.

Just like stage 5, there is little chance to recover bewtten each clmib, descent and the next climb.

Up front, Loes Adegeest (Lidl-Trek), Nikola Nosková (Cofidis), Katrine Aalerud (Uno-X Mobility) are working smoothly together.

They have extended their lead out to 2:20 now.

The pace in the peloton has eased on the plateau roads and that allowed van der Breggen and other riders to get back on.

There 114 riders in the peloton, 3 on the attack and a gruppetto of 15 riders at 5:00.

Visma-Lease a Bike have been forced to rewrite their Tour de France Femmes race strategy after defending champion Pauline Ferrand-Prévot lost a further 2:35 on stage 5, with Femke de Vries now the team's best-placed rider in the GC.

Visma-Lease a Bike rewrite Tour de France Femmes GC strategy after Pauline Ferrand-Prévot loses more time

95km to go

The riders have covered 1300 m of the total 2600m of elevation gain they face today.

That indicates that the first part of the stage, the 60km covered so far, was harder that what is to come.

However the next 50km are tough, with the 8.6km Col de Lalouvesc coming with 50km to go.

First they face the short but steep Côte de Praneuf, then the road continues to climb upwards at a gradual pace.

The race passed the intermediate sprint point a little earlier.

Loes Adegeest (Lidl-Trek), Nikola Nosková (Cofidis), Katrine Aalerud (Uno-X Mobility) took the first three places but Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx) was near the front of the peloton, was 5th over the line and so scored 13 more points.

She leads the green jersey competition with 144 points, with her teammate Lotte Kopecky second with 79 points.

Wiebes, thanks to her stage wins and other points, surely only has to finish the Tour to win the green jersey.

EF Education-Oatly are chasing stage victories this year. They missed the three-roider attack and so are chasing, with Henrietta Christie working on the front.

He efforts have helped reduce the gap to 1:50. EF will try to launch a riders across or into any more serious attack later in the stage.

80km to go

We can see Loes Adegeest (Lidl-Trek), Nikola Nosková (Cofidis), Katrine Aalerud (Uno-X Mobility) working smoothly together.

With EF's pink jersey's on the front of the chasing peloton.

There is a sense that this is the big move of the day, because EF don't want it to be.

Fenix-Premier Tech are also helping with the chase to try to help Puck Pieterse take as many QOM points as possible.

Nikola Nosková (Cofidis) is in the attack and has so-far picked-up 5 points. That puts her on 19, with Pieterse on 39.

Pieterse wants to score maximum points on the Cat 2 Col de Lalouvesc that awards, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 points.

Nosková may not be a major threat to Pieterse but she needs to hold off other GC climbers like Demi Vollering, who could take the polka.-dot jersey on the way to overall victory in the Tour.

For example, 15 points are awarded at the finish on Mont Ventoux.

70km to go

EF are bringing the break back, with Kirsten Faulkner on the front and even off the front.

The gap is just 35 seconds now.

Mischa Bredewold (SD Worx) is also helping the chase, a sign that Lotte Kopecky could try to go in a later attack.

The trio ahead seem to know their momnt is coming to end, with the gap at 30 seconds and Nikola Nosková (Cofidis) distanced due to Loes Adegeest (Lidl-Trek) upping the speed.

Sadly Yara Kastelijn (Fenix-Premier Tech) has abandoned the TDFF.

60km to go

The gap to Loes Adegeest (Lidl-Trek) and Katrine Aalerud (Uno-X Mobility) remains at 30 seconds, as the peloton takes the descent on country roads with caution.

Marlen Reusser moves to the front at one point to show she wants a steady pace.

The road is about to climb with the 8.6km Col de Lalouvesc, that rises at 5%.

Could Demi Vollering try an attack?

In theory yes but Reusser will surely be able to match her on a 5% climb.

As the Col de Lalouvesc begins, Loes Adegeest (Lidl-Trek) drops Katrine Aalerud (Uno-X Mobility).

The GC peloton is only 20 seconds behind.

Get ready for more attacks.

The peloton is splitting, with Pauline Ferrand-Prévot at the back.

Lorena Wiebes is dropped but she had fought to try to stay up front in the hope the race came back together.

World champion Magdeleine Vallieres (EF) is setting the pace and splitting the GC peloton.

She helped sweep up the peloton and only 35 riders are left up front.

Kim Le Court-Pienaar is 40 second down.

This could be another GC day.

Lotte Kopecky is up front but Anna van der Breggen has been dropped and is riding with Wiebes.

Any GC hopes she had are over now.

Attack!

Paula Balsi (UAE) attacks with 3km to climb.

It will be fascinating to see what Blasi does next and how she races.

Can she ride as a leader? Can she attack again? Can she try to win the stage?

There are so many legitimate questions that the team and the UAE riders have failed to answer.

Blasi is pulled back and so EF lead again, with Kristen Faulkner doing the work with 2 kilometres left to climb in the Col de Lalouvesc.

French nartional chanmpion Célia Gery (FDJ United - SUEZ) is also on the front and controlling the racing for Vollering.

Kim Le Court-Pienaar is back in the GC peloton after the steeper gradients eased.

The summit of the climb is near. Where is polka-dot Puck?

Puck Pieterse kicks and she takes 5 points for the QOM jersey.

Her teammates plays a sweeper role and picks-up 4 points.

There are 32 riders in the GC group and now they can enjoy 30k of descending roads until the last Côte de Boucieu-le-Roi climb with 20km to go.

Have you voted in our daily poll at the top of the Live section?

Will there be more GC drama on stage 6?

We think so.

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35km to go

Visma have Marion Bunel, Sarah Van Dam, Femke de Vries and Pauline Ferrand-Prévot in the GC group and so are active on the front.

Célia Gery (FDJ United) is also aggressive and has attacked.

A six-rider group has formed around Célia Gery.

Some in the peloton are happy to let them go but others are not and attack in pursuit.

In the attack are Gery, Kerbaol, Lippert, Van Dam, Pieterse… and Paolo Longo Borghini.

What happens now? Some teams will not work with the Italian champion.

There are only 26 riders in the GC group, so who will chase and why?

The gap of the six is up to 20 seconds.

Célia Gery is motivated because she is racing on home roads.

The presence of Longo Borghini probably means this attack will not stay away.

She is a threat and sixth on GC.

Indeed the gap is down to 15 seconds as the road flattens.

The six attackers are:

Sarah Van Dam (Visma-Lease a Bike), Cédrine Kerbaol (EF Education-EasyPost), Liane Lippert (Movistar Team), Elisa Longo Borghini (UAE Team L’Imad), Célia Gery (FDJ United-Suez) and Puck Pieterse (Fenix-Premier Tech).

20km to go

Canyon-SRAM, Lidl-Trek and SD Worx-Protime are not represented in the breakaway.

So the white jersey Antonia Niedermaier is riding for Katarzyna Niewiadoma-Phinney. Se does not want to give Longo Borghini or Cédrine Kerbaol any time.

The gap is at 30 seconds as the final 25km and final climb becomes a pursuit match.

This is the attack.

Lidl-Trek are also helping with the chase.

The pace is high and so riders are taking risks on the descent.

Marlen Resusser (Movistar) even went off road onto the grass on a fast corner.

This attack and the fast chase is hurting lots of riders.

The gap is still 30 seconds as the Côte de Boucieu-le-Roi climb begins.

Longo Borghini is leading the break and is hungry to gain time.

1km to the summit of the climb

Femke de Vries (Visma) has been dropped from the GC group. Shre is 8th on GC and, in theory, the new Visma GC leader after Ferrand-Prévot was distanced on stage 5.

15km to go

Puck Pieterse (Fenix-Premier Tech) leads over the top of the climb to score 5 more QOM points.

The GC peloton is at 25 seconds but up front Cédrine Kerbaol (EF Education-EasyPost) attacks.

The riders are fighting a headwind and as Antonia Niedermaier eases up, the GC peloton eases.

Lidl try to relaunch the chase but the gap is up to 40 seconds.

Elisa Longo Borghini (UAE Team L’Imad), Sarah Van Dam (Visma-Lease a Bike), Cédrine Kerbaol (EF Education-EasyPost) and Puck Pieterse (Fenix-Premier Tech) are all working hard in the attack but now Liane Lippert (Movistar Team) and Célia Gery (FDJ United-Suez) sit on, playing a GC tactic to protect Reusser's and Vollering's GC gaps.

This is a thriller.

Riejanne Markus (Lidl) and Kim Le Court-Pienaar (AG Insurance) are trying to go across to the six.

They moved at exactly the right time, the peloton seems to hsve let them go due to fatigue and a lack of rivals.

The attack could soon become eight riders, with Le Court-Pienaar a fast finisher.

10km to go

8 riders up front, with only 19 riders in the GC peloton. But who will chase?

And who will work with Le Court-Pienaar, knowing she is fast?

Pro cycling really is like chess on wheels.

After this short descent, there are 5km on the flat to the finish.

They will decide if the break stays away.

I think the 30-second gap is too big to close in such a short time by such a small GC group.

This stage is now Le Court-Pienaar to lose.

Surely someone will try to attack in the final kilometre and take a flyer.

5km to go

The gap is 35 seconds.

As the descent eases, Le Court-Pienaar makes a clever attacks.

Longo Borghini was boxed in for several vital seconds.

She leads the chase but Le Court-Pienaar has a gap.

3km to go

Le Court-Pienaar is caught.

Now what happens? Who attacks now?

But if the eight attack each other, the GC group could close the gap.

Riejanne Markus (Lidl) gets a gap but is closed down.

The gap is 20 seconds.

LAST KM

Incredible the 8 are playing games in the last km.

The eight riders sprint it out.

Le Court-Pienaar wins it!

But that was close.

Le Court-Pienaar lead out the sprint, seemed like she was fading but found an extra kick to win.

Not surprising she collapses on the ground in a mix of pain and emotion.

The official results show that Cédrine Kerbaol (EF Education-EasyPost) was second and Puck Pieterse (Fenix-Premier Tech) was third.

We have the first photos of the finish.

This is how close the sprint was.

Kim Le Court-Pienaar revealed that she suffered a bike problem before the last climb and so had to chase to get back on.

The adrenaline then fueled her move to join the attack and win it.

Kim Le Court-Pienaar went deep to win.

Of course, the GC did not change very much today, with Marlen Reusser and Demi Vollering finishing together.

This is the new top five before the big showdown on the climb of Mont Ventoux on Friday.

1. Marlen Reusser (Movistar )
2. Demi Vollering (FDJ United-Suez), +12
3. Katarzyna Niewiadoma-Phinney (Canyon//SRAM), +1:17
4. Elisa Longo Borghini (UAE Team L’Imad), +2:28
5. Antonia Niedermaier (Canyon//SRAM), +2:40

Kim Le Court-Pienaar was emotional about her win.

"This was crazy. I had a mechanical on the on the downhill before the last climb, and I had to change bikes, and I was really far but my team was amazing," she said.

"They brought me back slowly but surely to the bunch, and I got back on top of the last climb, which was a really big effort. And then I just tried to stay patient, try to recover from this big effort. Riejanne Markus and I bridged to the breakaway, and we got to the front. And they were not really cooperating, which is obvious. But I was happy to just still try."

"I also got a gap in the last few kilometres, and Elisa closed me down. But then when Riejanne Markus made an attack from the back, I knew it was going to happen because that's the only way she can win a race like this. And I had to close the gap myself, and I was really, really dead.

"I was on the limit. I can't believe I still had the legs to sprint. It was really hard. It was really this close before I could give up. I will never give up after this big effort my team did."

Kim Le Court-Pienaar finished second on stage 1 but had dropped out of the GC.

"I've been really struggling since the TT day but I think this really makes our Tour," she said.

"Of course, we've got GC ambitions, but winning a stage in a Tour de France is very special. You know, people don't really remember top 10, top five riders in Tour, but they do remember stage winners."

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What a day of racing and what a stage!

Read our full stage report to understand the details of what happened, see the best race shots and results.

Tour de France Femmes: Kim Le Court-Pienaar surges from small pack for stunning win on stage 6

Of course, it's the big one on Friday: Mont Ventoux day.

The legendary "Giant of Provence”, Mont Ventoux crowns stage 7, after 146.8 kilometres and 3,500 metres of climbing from the start in La Voulte-sur-Rhône. As the Queen Stage of the 2026 Tour de France Femmes, it should deliver GC fireworks.

This is our stage preview. Matilda Price and Dani Ostanek are on the ground in France and will soon have other special Ventoux news, interviews and features.

Tour de France Femmes 2026 stage 7 preview

Thanks for joining us for live coverage from stage 6.

Check out our news and interviews from the stage and from all the other racing news.

I'll be back on Friday to bring you full live coverage of the Mont Ventoux stage.