"I gave a fright to people watching at home" - Kim Le Court survives late Vollering bike throw to take stage 5 win in photo finish at 2025 Tour de France Femmes

Kim Le Court is back in the Maillot Jaune at the 2025 Tour de France Femmes after sprinting to the stage 5 win in Guéret on Wednesday afternoon from an elite 7-woman group, surviving late drama with Demi Vollering at the finishing line as well.

On the final climb of the day, the big GC contenders came to the fore, with a move from Vollering really splitting things at the front, drawing Katarzyna Niewiadoma, Sarah Gigante, Pauliena Rooijakkers, Anna van der Breggen, Pauline Ferrand-Prevot and Le Court clear. On the descent to the finish line, the lead group realised they had the stage win to decide between them, and in the fight for the line, it was down to a 7-woman battle. In the sprint, the win went to Le Court despite the Mauritian almost being usurped right at the line by a bike throw from Vollering to force a photo finish.

"We had a very clear plan to stay safe in the early part of the race because it was very flat and there were a lot of big crashes," Le Court reflected in her post-stage interview afterwards. "The big goal was to take the bonus sprint, which I managed to do, and then if we finished in a small group then try and take the stage victory. Luckily I had the fastest kick in the group."

Le Court also paid tribute to the work done in the finale by her teammate Gigante. "That helped a lot," she said. "I think if I didn't have Sarah with me then maybe the group behind would have come back – because some girls weren't keen to pace. I think it was only me Demi, and Kasia that were keen to do the work. Once Sarah got back on after the downhill I was really really lucky to have her because she committed fully to the line. It shows that teamwork is what you need in the sport."

As for that dramatic finale though, Le Court insists she was never concerned. "Maybe I gave a fright to people watching at home," she laughs. "But [on the bike] when you turn around you can see that you have the speed and you will cross the line first."