Kim Le Court-Pienaar takes maiden Tour de France win

Kim Le Court-Pienaar takes maiden Tour de France win

The Mauritius Champion is back in the yellow jersey after a perfect day for our team.

Kim Le Court continued to write history at the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift after emerging as the fastest from a select group to claim the win – the first of an African rider – at the end of Wednesday’s stage five, which finished in Guéret.

The winning move of the day formed on the Maupuy climb with around ten kilometers to go. A couple of riders went clear there, and Kim was among them. In the closing kilometers of the race, just after the descent, she was joined by Giro d’Italia double stage winner Sarah Gigante, who ended up playing a huge role in the outcome, as she drilled it hard at the front, helping the select group stay away.

It came down to a small sprint, and AG Insurance – Soudal’s 29-year-old showed the incredible speed that had already brought her back-to-back podiums on the opening weekend of the race as she came through the middle of the group to take a memorable victory in a close finish against Demi Vollering (FDJ-Suez) and move back into the yellow jersey, which she already wore for a day at the beginning of the week.

“We came into the stage with a clear plan. First, to stay safe in the early part of the day, because it was long and flat. Then the main goal was to take the bonus sprint, which I managed to do. We also had the stage victory in our mind, if we were to finish in a small group. It was a bit tricky at the end and it was closer than I expected, but luckily my kick was the fastest in the group and I could take this amazing win.”

The new overall leader of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift acknowledged the vital role that her teammates, and especially Sarah Gigante, had in getting Wednesday’s victory: “The entire squad was amazing today. I think that if I didn’t have Sarah with me, then maybe the group behind would have come back because not everyone was keen to pace. Once Sarah got back after the downhill, I was really lucky to have her there because she just committed fully to the line. Without her and the whole team, I couldn’t do what I did today, which shows that teamwork is really what you need in the sport. It’s a beautiful day for us and I’m so happy!”