Squiban solos to Tour de France stage win, Le Court maintains lead
Frenchwoman Squiban broke free from the chasing pack with 30km to go and soloed home to secure the victory in 3hr 20min 46sec, after a mountainous 123.7km slog from Clermont-Ferrand to Ambert.
Meanwhile, Ireland's Mia Griffin was 104th, Lara Gillespie was 110th, and Fiona Mangan came 123rd.
Advertisement
Griffin is now 90th overall, one place ahead of Gillespie, while Mangan is 120th.
'It's incredible, I don't know what to say! When they told me I had 1min 20sec, 1min 30sec (lead), I didn't really believe it,' said Squiban.
'I had Amalia (Debarges) from the team waiting for me with Haribo at the finish, that motivated me even more! It's a special day for us,' added the 23-year-old from Brest.
Compatriot Juliette Labous finished second, with Le Court completing the podium as the Mauritian held onto the yellow jersey she claimed on Wednesday when she became the first African to win a stage on the women's Tour.
'It could only have been better if I had won the stage. I felt really good today. The goal was to control the race,' said Le Court.
The 29-year-old has a 26sec lead over France's Pauline Ferrand-Prevot in the overall classification, with Polish reigning champion Katarzyna Niewiadoma a further 4sec behind.
Demi Vollering of the Netherlands, considered the pre-race favourite by many, sits fourth overall with a 31sec gap to Le Court.
Friday's seventh stage will see the peloton arrive in the Alps, with a hilly 159.7km run from Bourg-en-Bresse to Chambery on the cards.
– © AFP 2025
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Independent
4 hours ago
- Irish Independent
PGA Tour officials concerned after Rory McIlroy opts to skip opening round of FedEx Cup playoffs
The playoffs are made up of three rounds through August, starting with the Tour's 70 top-ranked players competing at the FedEx St Jude Championship at TPC Southwind in Tennessee. The top 50 progress to the second round, the BMW Championship at Caves Valley Golf Club in Maryland, before the top 30 players contest the Tour Championship shootout at East Lake Golf Club, Georgia. The quadruple points on offer through the first two events offer players the chance to quickly climb the rankings. But McIlroy, who is currently second in the FedEx Cup standings behind Scottie Scheffler after winning the Masters and the Players this year, is already assured of a place in the top 30 and so has chosen to rest rather than take part in the opening tournament. McIlroy's decision comes after the PGA Tour removed the much-maligned 'starting strokes' from the Tour Championship, in which the top ranked players were rewarded by starting the tournament several shots under par. This season, all 30 players will start the finale on level par, removing any incentive for McIlroy to play in the opening playoff round beyond the financial rewards – there is around £2.7m up for the winner – and the five-time major winner is doing OK in that regard. McIlroy signalled his intentions a year ago, as soon as starting strokes were set to be abolished, saying he doesn't get on well with TPC Southwind. But Peter Malnati, a player director on the PGA Tour Policy Board, said he was 'very concerned' by McIlroy's decision to skip the event, which means the FedEx Cup playoffs begin without one of the game's biggest stars when the remaining field of 69 players get underway on Thursday. Asked if the Tour would look to change the rules to prevent something similar happening in the future, Malnati added: 'I think there is stuff in the works and I'll leave it at that.' Fellow player director Webb Simpson empathised with McIlroy's decision, having done something similar in 2020 when he chose to sit out the second round in order to rest for the Tour Championship. 'I think it's too hard of a thing to make guys have to play, we're still a sport where you can play when you want to play,' Simpson said. 'I knew I couldn't fall more than one spot and I thought losing one stroke at East Lake was worth a week of rest because I was toast. I don't know Rory's reason but I totally get it. It's a hard thing to fix.'
The 42
a day ago
- The 42
Young captures long-awaited first PGA Tour win at Wyndham Championship
AMERICAN CAMERON YOUNG seized his first US PGA Tour title on Sunday, firing a two-under par 68 in the final round of the Wyndham Championship for a six-stroke victory over Mac Meissner. It was an emotional win for Young, whose seven career runner-up finishes included the 2022 British Open at St. Andrews. He started the day with a five-stroke lead and after an opening bogey reeled off five straight birdies – a run that included a 26-foot bomb at the third hole. A pair of bogeys at 16 and 17 were immaterial and Young tapped in for a par at the 18th to cap a two-under par 68 that gave him a 22-under total of 258. Advertisement 'I've been waiting for it for awhile,' Young said. 'I never thought I'd really be that emotional about it, but it's the end of my fourth season and I've had my chances. Never quite like this — and I wasn't going to let it get away from me today.' Ireland's Seamus Power finished well down the leaderboard, tied 44th on an overall score of four under par. The win at Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro, North Carolina, had a little extra resonance for Young, who played college golf at North Carolina's Wake Forest University. He was also hoping the win might catch the eye of US Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley with the biennial match play showdown with Europe coming up in September. 'Obviously that team is a goal of many of us,' the world number 44 said. Fellow American Meissner had five birdies in his four-under 66 to take second on 16-under 264. Sweden's Alex Noren and American Mark Hubbard shared third on 265 while US amateur Jackson Koivun shared fifth place with American Chris Kirk and England's Aaron Rai. Sunday's round marked the end of the PGA regular-season with the top 70 on the points list advancing to the playoffs which start next week at the St. Jude Championship. Of the players hoping to play their way in this week, Kirk's finish was enough to move him up from 73rd in the standings to 61st. © AFP
Irish Independent
2 days ago
- Irish Independent
Lara Gillespie finishes best of Irish at Tour de France Femmes
Lara Gillespie crossed the line 25 minutes behind Ferrand-Prevot yesterday to finish her Tour in 82nd in general classification. The Wicklow woman was best of a trio, who were the first Irish riders to compete in this iteration of France's Grand Tour. In the overall rankings, Mia Griffin finished 97th while Fiona Mangan took 118th. Ferrand-Prevot of team Visma-Lease a Bike held steady through the 124.1km ride from Praz-sur-Arly to Chatel, before launching a decisive attack in the last seven kilometres, and fell to the ground in tears after crossing the finish line. Vollering (FDJ-Suez) stayed in a group with Ferrand-Prevot for the majority of the ninth stage, but could not break away to make up her deficit of more than three minutes coming into the last day. The Dutch rider finished second in the race for the second year in a row, losing out on the yellow jersey by three minutes and 42 seconds. Defending champion Katarzyna Niewiadoma-Phinney (Canyon-SRAM) finished third overall. 'I'm so, so happy,' Ferrand-Prevot said. 'I was a bit scared with the pressure of this jersey... I had to stick to the front and just stay there.'
