Kim Le Court: "People don't always remember who finished in the top 5 or top 10 of the general classification, but they do remember who won a stage"
CyclingThursday, 06 August 2026 at 20:05
Kim Le Court won a stage at the 2025 Tour de France Femmes and she has backed that up this Thursday with another victory. In Tournon-sur-Rhône, the rider for Mauritius has succeeded in a day that was perfect for her - with several climbs and chaos in the mix.
Perfectly timed move earns Le Court a Tour win
Le Court is a classics specialist and today's stage of the Tour was raced like one. Whereas the climbers will take over the spotlight from Friday onwards, Le Court had another opportunity to succeed on the sixth stage of the race, featuring six categorized climbs and plenty rolling terrain.
She was not part of the winning move, but together with Riejanne Markus, managed to bridge across to the group of six containing Elisa Longo Borghini which would move away from the Marlen Reusser group and fight for the stage win.
“It was a crazy race. I had a mechanical problem on the descent before the final climb. I had to change bikes there and suddenly I was quite far behind," she described in a post-race interview.
"Fortunately, my teammates brought me back into the peloton. At the top of the final climb I was back at the front, albeit after a tough effort. I had to stay patient and recover well".
“Riejanne Markus and I tried to bridge the gap to the leading group. When we caught up, naturally no one wanted to work with me, but I was just happy that I had tried". The 30-year old worked towards the front of the group, and soon the fight for the stage win would begin.
"At 4 kilometers from the finish line, I suddenly opened up a small gap myself, but Elisa (Longo Borghini, ed.) soon came to pull me back.”
Kim Le Court wins stage 6 of the Tour de France Femmes 2026
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A memorable win makes Le Court's race
In the final kilometers Riejanne Markus attacked on two instances, something the AG Insurance - Soudal Team rider knew would happen and was ready for it. “I knew that Riejanne would try again after that. That is the only way she can win a race like this. That did happen, and I had to close the gap myself, but due to my effort, I was at my limit".
And in the final sprint there was tough competition, including a peak form Puck Pieterse, but she had the legs to pull off a stellar victory. "I can’t believe I still had the legs to sprint. I came very close to giving up, but I couldn’t do that after all the team’s work.”
Invertedly, Le Court jumped back into the Top10 of the Tour, gaining four positions with her late attack. However during the entire day, the stage win was all that was in her mind.
"It was tough after that time trial. But I think this makes our Tour. We have and had ambitions for the general classification, but winning a stage is special".
"People don't always remember who finished in the top 5 or top 10 of the general classification, but they do remember who won a stage," she argued.
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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