Rising star Le Court, after Liège and the yellow jersey, warns Vollering and co.

The fierce rider, with her Mauritius flag on her shirt, often confused with that of the world champion, had already finished second behind Marianne Vos on day 1. On Sunday, she came third in the sprint uphill, earning four important bonus seconds. Le Court finished in the same time as Vos in the overall standings, but gets to wear the yellow jersey because she finished higher than Vos in the stage results on days 1 and 2.

“When I crossed the finish line, I didn't actually know that I had taken the yellow jersey, but because I finished so close to Marianne yesterday, I succeeded,” Le Court analyzed happily in the press conference. “I can't believe it, even though it was the plan. We wanted the yellow jersey yesterday, but made it our goal again today. Because there was a breakaway group for a long time, we had to wait until the finish, and it's a shock that we succeeded.”

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The shock quickly gave way to words of determination, because Le Court wants to keep the yellow jersey for as long as possible. "Of course, I'm going to fight to keep the yellow jersey. The team's goal was to secure the GC anyway, but we also wanted to pursue stage wins. Finishing second and third and wearing the yellow jersey is a huge achievement for the team. We must stay calm and safe, and then ensure we don't lose any time towards the end of the week. Day by day."

Because who says Le Court can't compete with the best in the mountains at the end of this week? She no longer thinks it's a big deal, as she has been breaking all the rules of cycling since switching from mountain biking to road cycling full-time. “It's bizarre. In Liège-Bastogne-Liège, I realized what I'm doing in this sport for Africa. The fact that I'm now also the first yellow jersey wearer is very special.”

Tour favorites Demi Vollering, Katarzyna Niewiadoma, and others should therefore keep an eye on Le Court. “I want to put cycling in Africa on the map and motivate young girls to start cycling too. Ten years ago, I could barely finish races and thought about quitting, and now here I am with the yellow jersey on my shoulders. You have to keep trying, with the right support around you.”