Kim Le Court-Pienaar claimed a magnificent victory on stage 6 of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, giving AG Insurance – Soudal Team its first stage win of this year’s race.

Stage 6 delivered everything the Tour de France Femmes is known for: relentless racing, tactical battles and a dramatic finale. AG Insurance – Soudal Team was at the heart of the action throughout the day. The entire squad committed to keeping Le Court-Pienaar in contention.

Midstage Mechanical

Midway through the stage, Le Court-Pienaar suffered a mechanical issue on the descent towards the day’s key climb. The setback forced her to chase back to the favorites’ group at a crucial moment. Thanks to a determined effort and the invaluable support of teammates Justine Ghekiere and Lore De Schepper, she was able to regain contact before the summit.

When a dangerous group of riders moved clear in the finale, Le Court-Pienaar refused to give up. Together with Riejanne Markus, she bridged across to the leaders before settling into a tactical finale featuring some of the strongest riders in the race.

The attacks kept coming in the closing kilometres, but Le Court-Pienaar remained calm and perfectly positioned. Launching her sprint at exactly the right moment, she powered past Puck Pieterse before holding off the late charge of Cédrine Kerbaol to take a memorable stage victory, her second career stage win at the Tour de France Femmes after last year’s success.

Kim Le Court-Pienaar: “It has been such an emotional day. After the mechanical problem I thought my chances were gone, but my teammates never stopped believing in me. Justine and Lore did an incredible job to bring me back, and from that moment I just kept fighting.

In the finale, I knew I had to stay calm and wait for the right moment. To finish it off like this after everything that happened today is really special. This victory belongs to the whole team because everyone played a part in it.”

Press Release from AG Insurance — Soudal Team

Credit Billy Ceusters from ASO