Tour de France Femmes: Kim Le Court becomes first African to win a stage
Team Visma Lease-A-Bike's Marianne Vos started the day in Chasseneuil-du-Poitou (Futuroscope) leading the overall classification but crossed the finish line 165.8km later, in Gueret, 33 seconds behind the first group.
The day of racing finished with no movement in the green jersey (points) and the polka-dot jersey (mountains) with Lorena Wiebes (Team SD Worx-Protime) and Elise Chabbey (FDJ-Suez) holding onto them respectively.
🇲🇺 @KimLeCourt takes it on the line !!!
🇲🇺 @KimLeCourt l'emporte sur la ligne !!!#TDFF2025 | #WatchTheFemmes | @gozwift pic.twitter.com/ejNUXdlryF
— Le Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift (@LeTourFemmes) July 30, 2025
'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 the big goal was to take the bonus sprint, which I managed to do, then try for the victory,' Le Court (AG Insurance-Soudal) said after her win. 'It was difficult in the finish, I went around the corner in front and it was a bit further than I expected, but my kick was the best in the group.
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'I couldn't have done it without a team-mate. Teamwork is what you need in the sport.'
The 29-year-old's team-mate Sarah Gigante was in the leading group that included Demi Vollering (FDJ Suez) and Pauline Ferrand-Prevot (Team Visma Lease-A-Bike), helping set the pace to ensure Le Court was set up for the win.
After two days of dominance from Wiebes, the peloton distanced her and team-mate Lotte Kopecky with just over 20km to go as they chased down the breakaway group.
United States champion Kristen Faulkner was one of eight riders to abandon the race on Wednesday, as she was involved in another early crash and her team EF Education-Oatly announced on their X page that she had battled fatigue.
The other riders to drop out were Elisa Balsamo (Lidl-Trek), Maria Giulia Confalonieri (Uno-X Mobility), Katrine Aalerud (UnoX-Mobility), Monica Trinca Colonel (Liv-AlUla-Jayco), Eugenia Bujak (Cofidis), Agnieszka Skalniak-Sojka (CANYON//SRAM zondacrypto) and Eleonora Gasparrini (UAE Team ADQ).
Race update: Kristen Faulkner abandoned the #TDFF2025 after battling fatigue since the start of the race. She gave everything to support her teammates but will now return home to focus on rest and recovery. Wishing you all the best, champ 🫶 pic.twitter.com/WQE39z94qq
— EF Education-Oatly (@EF_Oatly) July 30, 2025
Thursday's stage will take the riders into the mountains for the first time, making it the most significant day for those competing in the GC as time gaps are more likely to occur. The peloton will travel 123.7 km from Clermont-Ferrand to Ambert.
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