Kim Le Court denies ‘Polka Puck’ Pieterse in Tour de France Femmes stage 6

Kim Le Court (AG Insurance Soudal Quick-Step) claimed victory in Thursday’s once again entertaining 6th stage of the Tour de France Femmes by Puck Pieterse (Fenix-Premier Tech). Demi Vollering (FDJ-Suez) briefly tried to put pressure on yellow jersey holder Marlen Reusser (Movistar) in the final stretch, but she didn’t give in.

2,800 meters of climbing over 140 kilometers made for a thrilling spectacle in the fifth stage. Demi Vollering, Marlen Reusser, and Kasia Niewiadoma fought a thrilling battle in the final stretch, with the Dutch rider ultimately coming out on top in the sprint. Pauline Ferrand-Prévot saw her dream of the yellow jersey shatter there.

On paper, the sixth stage was perhaps just as grueling as Wednesday’s. Starting from Montbrison, riders had to conquer 2,600 meters of elevation gain to reach Tournon-sur-Rhône, with six categorized climbs. However, the most challenging part wasn’t in the final stretch, so anything could happen!

And so it happened: the race was intense right from the start. With a hilly opening, Charlotte Kool (Fenix-Premier Tech) had to drop back fairly quickly, while her teammate Puck Pieterse was among the riders setting the pace at the front. The Dutch rider claimed the mountain points on the day’s first climb, thereby solidifying her lead.

Nadia Noskova, riding for Cofidis and ranked second in that classification, then joined Loes Adegeest (Lidl-Trek) and Katerine Aalerud (Uno-X) in the day’s breakaway. Human Powered Health tried briefly to keep the gap small, but eventually had to concede: the lead grew to several minutes, and relative calm returned during the middle phase of the stage.

Alpecin-Premier Tech and EF Education-Oatly then took control of the pace to pursue their stage goals, which set the stage for an attack by Olympic champion Kristen Faulkner with 75 kilometers to go. The increased pace caused riders including Marianne Vos, Anna van der Breggen, and Zoe Backstedt to drop off the pace.

After Faulkner, it was world champion Magdeleine Vallieres’ turn, who appeared to be setting up an attack by Cédrine Kerbaol. As a result, the peloton was reduced to 30 riders as they entered the final 45 kilometers, which were mostly downhill. During this stretch, we saw new attacks from Celia Gery (FDJ-Suez), Elisa Longo Borghini (UAE), Puck Pieterse (Fenix-Premier Tech), Cédrine Kerbaol (EF), Sarah Van Dam (Visma | Lease a Bike), and Liane Lippert of Movistar.

They gained half a minute on what remained of the peloton, where Antonia Niedermaier took the lead for Niewiadoma. This pace proved too much for Femke de Vries, the No. 8 in the general classification riding for Visma | Lease a Bike. Marion Bunel waited for the Dutch rider to limit the damage.

At the top of the final climb, Kim Le Court (AG Insurance Soudal Quick-Step) and Riejanne Markus (Lidl-Trek) set off in pursuit of the leading group, eventually catching up on the final ascending meters. Behind them, Demi Vollering, riding for FDJ-Suez, attempted to attack Marlen Reusser (Movistar), but Reusser didn’t budge.

So it was at the front where the battle for the stage victory was fought. The first attack came from Le Court, who on paper was perhaps the fastest of the group. Longo Borghini reeled Le Court back in, putting the race back in play, and Markus sensed her chance. The Dutch sprinter was also reeled in by Longo Borghini, who seemed to be throwing her own chances away in the process.

Next, please? Markus again, out in front! And now it was Le Court who reeled in the Dutch rider in the final 700 meters. This set up an eight-rider sprint, with Le Court leading the way. Pieterse went for it and tried to pass, but Le Court fought back and held Pieterse off at the finish.

1. Kim Le Court (AG Insurance Soudal Quick-Step)
2. Puck Pieterse (Fenix-Premier Tech)
3. Cedrine Kerbaol (EF Education-Oatly)