Latest news with #AGInsurance-Soudal
RTHK
3 hours ago
- Sport
- RTHK
Le Court makes history for Africa at Tour de France
Le Court makes history for Africa at Tour de France Kim Le Court says her historic stage win has been a "dream start" to the Tour. Photo: AFP Mauritian Kim Le Court has become the first African to win a stage on the women's Tour de France. It was a case of double celebration for the 29-year-old who took the fifth stage honours in a sprint to reclaim the leader's yellow jersey. Le Court edged Dutch duo Demi Vollering and Anna van der Breggen after a hilly 166km ride, the longest of the Tour, from Chasseneuil-du-Poitou Futuroscope to Gueret. Overnight leader Marianne Vos lost yellow to the AG Insurance-Soudal team leader after finishing eighth, 33 seconds adrift, on the day. Le Court, who had a brief spell already at the top of the general classification after stage two, now leads France's Pauline Ferrand-Prevot by 18 seconds. "It's really been a dream start to the Tour. The stage win, the yellow jersey," said Le Court. "I wasn't even thinking about it when we started in Brittany. "As for what happens next, we'll see, since I don't know my limits in the mountains, this Tour being my first major stage race where my team has asked me to compete for the overall classification," he added. Vollering, the Tour winner in 2023 and favourite for this edition, is third at 23sec after recovering from a heavy fall on Monday. Last year's winner, Poland's Katarzyna Niewiadoma, took fourth in the stage to sit well placed at 24sec off the overall lead. Thursday's sixth stage is a mountainous 123.7km ride from Clermont-Ferrand to Ambert featuring three ascents including the category one climb up the Col du Beal, with the race finishing on Sunday. (AFP)
Perth Now
8 hours ago
- Sport
- Perth Now
Gigante makes big move as Chapman shows her fight
Australia's Sarah Gigante has powered into the leading group at the Tour de France Femmes after a battling display during a marathon 165.8km ride from Jaunay-Marigny to Gueret. She crossed the line at the end of the fifth stage just behind AG Insurance-Soudal teammate Kimberley Le Court Pienaar, the Mauritian who thus became the first African to win a stage at the Tour de France Femmes. It meant a big move up the general classification for Gigante, the 24-year-old Victorian who climbed from 19th at the start of the day to eighth place, 55 seconds behind Le Court. Another Australian, Brodie Chapman, of UAE Team ADQ, was part of an early breakaway, and even hit the front at Côte du Peyroux before being caught before the last climb of the day Chapman dropped back to finish 54th and and is 76th overall, 24:23 behind Le Court. But her efforts secured her the award for the most combative rider of the day. The 29-year-old Le Court, who led the general classification after stage two but was overtaken by Marianne Vos (Visma-Lease a Bike), won a breakneck downhill push to the finish that included Gigante, edging out 2023 champion Demi Vollering. "We came in with a clear plan, first to stay safe ... it was difficult because it was flat and fast, a lot of big crashes ... then try for the victory," Le Court said. The fifth stage, the longest in the Tour this year, went through relatively flat terrain before three climbs in the final 35km and saw several failed breakaway attempts as the peloton covered 46.5km in the first hour despite multiple crashes. Green jersey holder Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime) recovered from a crash to rejoin the peloton, but struggled to keep up after the first climb, ultimately finishing 58th. American Olympic champion Kristen Faulkner (EF Education-Oatly) abandoned the race after her third crash in three days. Maria Giulia Confalonieri, Elisa Balsamo and Monica Trinca Colonel also quit the race. Vos, who stayed in the peloton behind a leading group for most of the race, attacked in the final 15km during the mountainous part of the stage, but fell behind during the final uphill push, dropping to sixth in the general classification. Vollering (FDJ-Suez) rose to third overall, while Pauline Ferrand Prevot (Visma-Lease a Bike) moved up to second, sitting 18 seconds behind Le Court in the general classification. The Tour continues on Thursday with a mountainous 123.7km ride from Clermont-Ferrand to Ambert.
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Kim Le Court becomes first African stage winner at Tour de France Femmes
Kim Le Court Pienaar became the first African to win a stage at the Tour de France Femmes with a late push on Wednesday, reclaiming the yellow jersey on stage five's 165.8 km ride from Jaunay-Marigny to Gueret. Le Court (AG Insurance-Soudal), who led the general classification after stage two but was overtaken by Marianne Vos (Visma-Lease a Bike), won a breakneck downhill push to the finish, edging 2023 champion and overall race favourite Demi Vollering (FDJ-Suez) on the line. 'We came in with a clear plan, first to stay safe... it was difficult because it was flat and fast, a lot of big crashes... then try for the victory,' Le Court, the Mauritian national champion, said. The 29-year-old sat up to celebrate before crossing the line and only narrowly finished ahead of a still-accelerating Vollering, whose bike throw wasn't enough to pip Le Court. She added: 'When you're on the bike you can see you have the speed, and you'll cross the line first. Maybe I gave a bit of a fright to people watching at home … Luckily for me, I had enough [of a] gap.' The fifth stage, the longest in the Tour this year, went through relatively flat terrain before three climbs in the final 35km and saw several failed breakaway attempts as the peloton covered 46.5 km in the first hour despite multiple crashes. Points jersey holder Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime) recovered from a crash to rejoin the peloton and contest the minor places at the intermediate sprint, which was won by Alison Jackson from the breakaway. But the Dutchwoman struggled to keep up after the first climb, ultimately finishing 58th. American Olympic champion Kristen Faulkner (EF Education-Oatly) abandoned the race after her third crash in three days. Maria Giulia Confalonieri, Elisa Balsamo and Monica Trinca Colonel also quit the race, continuing an exodus of big names after Tour de Suisse champion Marlen Reusser and Giro d'Italia winner Elisa Longo Borghini abandoned earlier in the week. A thinned-down group of yellow jersey contenders caught the final breakaway stragglers on the day's final climb, Le Maupuy, inside the last 10km, and attacked to eke out a 30-second gap on the peloton, with Vos unable to go with them. The seven-strong group - including last year's entire podium - would not be caught and ultimately sprinted for the stage honours in Gueret. Paris-Roubaix Femmes champion Pauline Ferrand Prevot (Visma-Lease a Bike) moved up to second, sitting 18 seconds behind Le Court in the general classification, while Vollering rose to third, 23 seconds down. Vollering's performance indicated that despite a nasty crash on stage three - which had threatened to put her out of the race entirely - she remains a serious contender for the yellow jersey once again. Last year's champion Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney sits fourth at 24 seconds back, setting up a tight battle for yellow in the upcoming mountain stages, which will decide the race. Saturday's 'queen stage', from Chambery to a summit finish atop the Col de la Madeleine, features 3,520m of climbing. The Tour continues on Thursday with a mountainous 123.7km ride from Clermont-Ferrand to Ambert. Additional reporting from Reuters
LeMonde
8 hours ago
- Sport
- LeMonde
Tour de France Femmes: Le Court makes history for Africa with fifth-stage victory
Mauritian Kimberley Le Court-Pienaar became the first African cyclist to win a stage on the women's Tour de France on Wednesday, July 30. It was a case of double celebration for the 29-year-old, who took the fifth stage honours in a sprint to reclaim the leader's yellow jersey. Le Court edged Dutch duo Demi Vollering and Anna van der Breggen after a hilly 166km ride, the longest of the Tour, from Chasseneuil-du-Poitou Futuroscope to Gueret. Overnight leader Marianne Vos lost yellow to Le Court, the AG Insurance-Soudal team leader, after finishing eighth, 33 seconds adrift, on the day. Le Court, who had a brief spell already at the top of the general classification after stage two, now leads France's Pauline Ferrand-Prévot by 18 seconds. "It's really been a dream start to the Tour. The stage win, the yellow jersey," said Le Court, adding: "I wasn't even thinking about it when we started in Brittany." "As for what happens next, we'll see, since I don't know my limits in the mountains, this Tour being my first major stage race where my team has asked me to compete for the overall classification," she said. Vollering, the Tour winner in 2023 and favourite for this edition, is third at 23sec after recovering from a heavy fall on Monday. Last year's winner, Poland's Katarzyna Niewiadoma, took fourth in the stage, to sit well-placed at 24 sec off the overall lead. Thursday's sixth stage is a mountainous 123.7km ride from Clermont-Ferrand to Ambert featuring three ascents including the category one climb up the Col du Beal, with the race finishing on Sunday.
RTÉ News
9 hours ago
- Sport
- RTÉ News
Kimberley Le Court Pienaar becomes first African stage winner at women's Tour de France
Mauritian Kimberley Le Court Pienaar became the first African to win a stage at the Tour de France Femmes with a late push on Wednesday, reclaiming the yellow jersey during a marathon 165.8 km ride from Jaunay-Marigny to Gueret. Le Court (AG Insurance-Soudal), 29, who led the general classification after stage two but was overtaken by Marianne Vos (Visma-Lease a Bike), won a breakneck downhill push to the finish, edging 2023 champion Demi Vollering. "We came in with a clear plan, first to stay safe... it was difficult because it was flat and fast, a lot of big crashes... then try for the victory," Le Court said. Of the Irish trio in the race - this year's is the first to include riders from this country - Mia Griffin (Roland le Devoluy) crossed the line 61st just ahead of fellow Olympian Lara Gillespie (UAE Team ADQ), who on Tuesday had made history by becoming the first Irishwoman to finish on the podium after a historic third-placed finish on stage four. Fiona Mangan (Winspace Orange Seal) finished Wednesday's stage in 107th. The fifth stage, the longest in the Tour this year, went through a relatively flat terrain before three climbs in the final 35 km and saw several failed breakaway attempts as the peloton covered 46.5 km in the first hour despite multiple crashes. Green jersey holder Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime) recovered from a crash to rejoin the peloton, but struggled to keep up after the first climb, ultimately finishing 58th. American Olympic champion Kristen Faulkner (EF Education-Oatly) abandoned the race after her third crash in three days. Maria Giulia Confalonieri, Elisa Balsamo and Monica Trinca Colonel also quit the race. Vos, who stayed in the peloton behind a leading group for most of the race, attacked in the final 15 km during the mountainous part of the stage, but fell behind during the final uphill push, dropping to sixth in the general classification. Vollering (FDJ-Suez) rose to third overall, while Pauline Ferrand Prevot (Visma-Lease a Bike) moved up to second, sitting 18 seconds behind Le Court in the general classification. The Tour continues on Thursday with a mountainous 123.7km ride from Clermont-Ferrand to Ambert.
