Le Court didn’t see Ferrand-Prévot go in the stage 1 finale of Tour de France Femmes: "I was really focused on the wheel in front of me"

“It was a short and fast race,” Le Court said in her initial reaction on social media. "We expected a hectic race, and that's what we got. There was a crash in the neutralization, so yes, it was really crazy... But the team did a fantastic job today. My teammates always surrounded me. That felt really good because it was so hectic. The girls were always there when I needed them."

In the end, the 29-year-old, this year's winner of Liège-Bastogne-Liège, would compete for the stage win and the yellow jersey. “In the last lap and the final in general, everything went really fast,” the Mauritian national champion recalls in the press release. Le Court even missed the moment when Ferrand-Prévot attacked, with a good 500 meters to go to the finish. “I was really focused on the wheel in front of me, so I didn't even see Pauline (Ferrand-Prévot) go.”

We will never know if Le Court could have stayed with her. The number five in the Tour of Flanders and Milan-Sanremo knows that it probably wouldn't have made much difference. “The scenario would have been the same in any case because Marianne (Vos) was just the fastest and for sure on this kind of finish. But I'm still very proud of my second place and the support of the team, what was really perfect!”

While Vos will wear the yellow jersey during the second stage, Le Court will be wearing green. Logically, Vos cannot wear two jerseys at the same time, so the number two in the points classification, Le Court, will wear the green jersey.