'I will never give up' – Kim Le Court-Pienaar sprints to victory on stage six of the Tour de France Femmes
The Mauritian national champion staged a stunning recovery and outgunned her breakaway rivals to secure her second Tour de France Femmes victory
Kim Le Court-Pienaar recovered from a late mechanical set-back to win a thrilling sprint finish in Tournon-sur-Rhône on day six of the Tour de France Femmes.
After being forced to swap bikes on the penultimate descent of the day, the AG Insurance-Soudal rider bridged the gap to join an eight-rider breakaway, and in the final few metres got her wheel in front, pushing Cédrine Kerbaol (EF Education-Oatly) and Puck Pieterse (Fenix-Premier Tech) into second and third place respectively.
After a hot and hilly day in the Ardèche, on a long route that featured six categorised climbs, Marlen Reusser of Movistar remains in the yellow jersey, as Mont Ventoux looms on the horizon of tomorrow's race-defining stage. But for now, the dust is still settling on a fast and frenetic day of racing.
"The race was crazy,' said Le Court-Pienaar immediately afterwards. "I had a mechanical on the downhill before the last climb. I had to change bikes and I was really far, but my team were amazing, they brought me back, slowly but surely back to the bunch. I got back on top of the last climb, which was a really big effort, and I just tried to stay patient, tried to recover.
"Riejanne Markus and I bridged to the breakaway. We got to the front and they were not cooperating, which was obvious, but I was happy to still try. I got a gap in the last few kilometres and Elisa closed me down. 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, it was really close whether I could give up. I will never give up after this big effort my team did.
"I think the team needed this. I have been really struggling since the TT day and I think this really makes up... Of course we've got GC ambitions, but winning a stage at the Tour de France is very special. People don't really remember top 10, top five, but they do remember stage winners."
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Having recently clipped in as News & Features Writer for Cycling Weekly, Pat has spent decades in the saddle of road, gravel and mountain bikes pursuing interesting stories. En route he has ridden across Australia's Great Dividing Range, pedalled the Pirinexus route around the Catalan Pyrenees, raced through the Norwegian mountains with 17,000 other competitors during the Birkebeinerrittet, fatbiked along the coast of Wales, explored the trails of the Canadian Yukon under the midnight sun and spent umpteen happy hours bikepacking and cycle-touring the lost lanes and hidden bridleways of the Peak District, Exmoor, Dartmoor, North Yorkshire and Scotland. He worked for Lonely Planet for 15 years as a writer and editor, contributed to Epic Rides of the World and has authored several books.
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