Kim Le Court of AG Insurance-Soudal produced a remarkable comeback to win stage six of the Tour de France Femmes in a sprint finish, while Marlen Reusser of Movistar retained the overall leader's yellow jersey. The Mauritian rider suffered a mechanical on the descent of the second-to-last climb, changed bikes, and fought her way back to the front group before launching a decisive attack in the final kilometres.
Stage six result: Le Court's triumph
Le Court crossed the line in Tournon-sur-Rhône ahead of Cedrine Kerbaol (EF Education-Oatly) and Puck Pieterse (Fenix-Premier Tech). The top ten on the stage was completed by Sarah Van Dam (Visma-Lease A Bike), Celia Gery (FDJ United-Suez), Liana Lippert (Movistar), Elisa Longo Borghini (UAE Team L'Imad), Riejanne Markus (Lidl-Trek), Dominika Wlodarczyk (UAE Team L'Imad), and Noemi Ruegg (EF Education-Oatly).
How the race unfolded
The stage featured relentless attacking from the start, with a breakaway forming early. The decisive move came on the Côte de Boucieu-le-Roi, where a group of six riders, including Kerbaol, Longo Borghini, Gery, Pieterse, Van Dam, and Lippert, gained a slim advantage. Le Court and Markus bridged across with a powerful chase, setting up a thrilling finale.
With 4km to go, Le Court attacked alone, gapping her rivals, and held on to take the win. The victory was all the more remarkable given her earlier mechanical, which forced a bike change. "I had a mechanical on the downhill of the second-last climb," Le Court said. "I had to change bikes but my team was amazing. I got back in the group on the last climb and that was a really big effort."
General classification unchanged at the top
Reusser finished safely in the main group to retain the yellow jersey, leading Demi Vollering (FDJ United-Suez) by 12 seconds. Katarzyna Niewiadoma (Canyon/SRAM) sits third at 1min 17sec, followed by Longo Borghini at 2min 28sec, and Antonia Niedermaier (Canyon/SRAM) at 2min 40sec. Le Court's stage win moved her up to ninth overall, 3min 26sec behind Reusser.
Queen of the Mountains standings
Puck Pieterse extended her lead in the Queen of the Mountains classification, taking maximum points on the day's climbs. She now has 47 points, well ahead of Nikola Noskova (Cofidis) with 21 points and Sigrid Haugset (Uno-X Mobility) with 11 points. Vollering is sixth in that classification with 7 points.
Quotes from the stage winner
Le Court, who had been struggling since the time trial, dedicated the win to her team. "I was really, really dead, I can't believe I still had the legs to sprint," she said. "I think the team needed it. I've been really struggling since the TT day... of course we have GC ambitions, but winning a stage at the Tour de France is very special. People don't really remember top five, top 10 on GC, but they do remember stage winners."
Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, who rode aggressively, described the race as "full gas all day long." She added, "It was nice. It went fast, time went fast, and I'm super-proud of my teammates how they develop, how they learn... my level is quite good, but I just think the others are better."
Looking ahead to Mont Ventoux
The race now heads to the iconic Mont Ventoux for stage seven, a decisive test for the general classification contenders. Reusser's Movistar team have defended the yellow jersey with textbook precision since the time trial, but Vollering and Niewiadoma will look to challenge on the legendary climb. With temperatures near 32°C, the stage promises to be a grueling battle.
