Results Tour of Britain Women 2026 Stage 3 - Kim Le Court-Pienaar seizes race lead with Great Orme solo as Lorena Wiebes denied hat-trick
Cycling
Kim Le Court-Pienaar stormed to victory on the Great Orme to take the overall lead at the 2026 Tour of Britain Women, ending Lorena Wiebes’ run of consecutive stage wins with a decisive attack on the final climb.
The AG Insurance-Soudal rider accelerated with approximately 2.6km remaining and crossed the line 13 seconds ahead of Liane Lippert. Caroline Andersson finished third at 20 seconds, with Femke de Vries fourth and Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig fifth.
Wiebes attempted to respond when Le Court-Pienaar attacked, but the race leader could not follow her rival to the summit and finished outside the top five. The result ensured Le Court-Pienaar overturned the deficit she had carried into the stage to take control of the general classification.
Kopecky withdrawal and crash shape opening kilometres
The approximately 105km stage from Mold to the Great Orme represented the most demanding test of the race, with 1,617 metres of climbing and an uphill finish above Llandudno.
SD Worx-Protime began the day without Lotte Kopecky, the 2024 Tour of Britain Women champion, who did not start after helping Wiebes win Thursday’s stage in Blackpool.
Kopecky had also won the previous Llandudno stage in 2024, although that finish took place on the promenade rather than the climb of the Great Orme. No explanation for her withdrawal was immediately available.
Karlijn Swinkels, fourth overall at the start of the day, was involved in a crash alongside Ricarda Bauernfeind, Marthe Truyen and Quinty Ton with approximately 45km remaining. The UAE Team L'IMAD rider recovered sufficiently to finish fifth over Nebo and remain involved in the race. Lauren Dickson won both classified climbs at Moel Fodair and Nebo, moving onto 26 mountains points and securing the classification jersey for stage 4.
Bonus seconds set up decisive Great Orme attack
Wiebes started the stage 14 seconds ahead of both Le Court-Pienaar and Chiara Consonni after winning the opening two stages. Le Court-Pienaar began cutting into that advantage at the intermediate sprint in Dolgarrog, where she took three bonus seconds ahead of Mischa Bredewold. Wiebes finished third and collected one second, reducing the gap between the two overall contenders to 12 seconds.
The peloton had already been reduced substantially before the run towards Llandudno, and Consonni was distanced with approximately 5.9km remaining as the pace increased.
Lidl-Trek helped drive the approach to the final climb, with Riejanne Markus and Bauernfeind appearing at the front. Around 20 riders remained together with 4.4km to go before Le Court-Pienaar launched her decisive move.
The Mauritian attacked with approximately 2.6km remaining as the race approached the Great Orme’s 2.5km ascent, which averaged 6.1% and included sections reaching 11%.
Wiebes attempted to counter shortly afterwards, but Le Court-Pienaar continued clear towards the summit. Lippert emerged as her closest challenger but finished 13 seconds behind, while Andersson completed the podium a further seven seconds back.
De Vries finished fourth at 21 seconds and Uttrup Ludwig fifth at 23 seconds. After taking third behind Wiebes in Blackpool, Le Court-Pienaar claimed both the stage victory and the overall lead heading into Saturday’s stage from Llanidloes to Hay-on-Wye.
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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