Mauritian rider Kim Le Court overcame an early crash and mechanical problems to win the sprint finish of stage six in the 2026 Tour de France Femmes on Thursday, August 6th. The 30-year-old was part of an eight-rider breakaway and edged out France's Cedrine Kerbaol and the Netherlands' Puck Pieterse after the 153 km hilly route from Montbrison to Tournon-sur-Rhône in southeastern France.

Le Court's victory marks her second stage win in the Grande Boucle, following her triumph last year in Guéret. Despite having to change bikes just 15 km from the finish line due to mechanical issues, she, alongside Dutch rider Riejanne Markus, caught the other breakaway riders before the final climb 10 km from Tournon-sur-Rhône and proved strongest in the sprint.

Swiss cyclist Marlen Reusser retained the yellow jersey, maintaining a 12-second lead over Dutch rider Demi Vollering and a 1 minute 17 second gap over Poland's Kasia Niewiadoma. The overall race favorites finished 28 seconds behind the breakaway group.

The race now heads into its queen stage on Friday, August 7th, which concludes with a challenging ascent to the summit of Mont Ventoux in the French Alps via the Bedoin climb, spanning 15.7 km at an 8.8% gradient.

Reflecting on her win, Le Court said, "It was a truly crazy stage. The team did such a great job positioning me at the front of the race that I couldn't give up the fight."

Sources