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

Kim Le Court-Pienaar (AG Insurance-Soudal) won stage 6 at the Tour de France Femmes in the sprint of a group of eight. Cédrine Kerbaol (EF Education-Oatly) finished second, Puck Pieterse (Fenix-Premier Tech) rounded out the podium in Tournon-sur-Rhône.

After the early breakaway of three riders was caught on the Col de Lalouvesc, French champion Célia Gery (FDJ United-Suez) attacked on the descent but did not get away. She tried again near the end of the descent, 34km from the finish, and got a gap.

Pieterse went on the chase and was joined by Elisa Longo Borghini (UAE Team L'IMAD), Kerbaol, Liane Lippert (Movistar), and Sarah Van Dam (Visma-Lease a Bike). Together, they bridged to Gery with 31km to go, and the six riders had a 30-second advantage over a very reduced peloton going into the last classified climb, the Côte de Boucieu-le-Roi.

Longo Borghini set the pace on the climb, keeping the gap stable. Riejanne Markus (Lidl-Trek) attacked from the peloton at the 15km mark, and Le Court-Pienaar immediately jumped across. As the riders in the front group looked at each other on the rise to the bonus sprint, the two chasers closed the gap, and Le Court-Pienaar went to the front of the group to win the bonus sprint.

Longo Borghini led the group down the descent, and when they were 32 seconds up with 5km to go, it was clear that the break would contest the stage. Le Court-Pienaar, Kerbaol, and Markus tried to get away in the final but were all brought back. On the finishing straight, Le Court-Pienaar launched her sprint with 300m to go, holding off Kerbaol and Pieterse to win.

“The race was crazy. I had a mechanical on the downhill before the [second-to-] last climb. I had to change bikes and I was really far [back], but my team was amazing. They brought me back slowly but surely to the bunch, and I got back on top of the [second-to]last climb, which was a really big effort. Then I just tried to stay patient and recover from this big effort,” the stage winner described how her team brought her back after a mechanical at the worst possible moment.

“Riejanne Markus and I bridged to the breakaway, and they were not really cooperating, which is obvious, but I was happy to just still try. I got a gap in the last few kilometres and Elisa closed me down, 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.

"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. I was really this close to giving up, but I will never give up after the big effort my team did,” Le Court-Pienaar recounted the final.

It is the Mauritian champion’s second career Tour stage victory, and it makes up for the disappointment of the previous three stages.

“I think the team needed it. I've been really struggling since the TT day, and I think this really makes our Tour. 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 5 riders in the Tour, but they do remember stage winners,” she said.

More to come...

Stage 6 Results

GC after stage 6