France's Squiban aces mountain test to win stage 6 of Women's Tour de France
Squiban of UAE Team ADQ finished one minute and nine seconds ahead of compatriot Juliette Labous (FDJ-Suez) in second place.
Squiban stayed in the peloton led by yellow jersey holder Kimberley Le Court Pienaar (AG Insurance-Soudal), as mountains classification leader Elise Chabbey (FDJ-Suez) led the arduous 10-km climb to Col du Beal, before breaking away on the ascent to Col du Chansert.
The 23-year-old soon built a lead of over a minute and comfortably took the win in the 123.7km ride from Clermont-Ferrand to Ambert, becoming the second French rider to claim a stage in the event after Cedrine Kerbaol took stage six last year.
Mauritian Le Court was the third to cross the finish line as she retained her lead in the general classification.
The Tour continues on Friday with a hilly 159.7km ride from Bourg-en-Bresse to Chambery.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
France 24
10 hours ago
- France 24
Pauline Ferrand-Prévot wins women's Tour de France, a first French victory since 1989
Olympic champion Pauline Ferrand-Prévot won the women's Tour de France on Sunday, pushing through three punishing climbs to win the final stage ahead of 2023 champion Demi Vollering, who finished second overall. The 33-year-old of team Visma-Lease a Bike held steady through the 124.1km ride from Praz-sur-Arly to Chatel, before launching a decisive attack in the last seven kilometres. Vollering (FDJ–Suez) stayed in a group with Ferrand-Prévot for the majority of the ninth stage, but could not break away to make up her deficit of more than three minutes coming into the last day. Ferrand-Prévot said she had achieved "the goal of (her) life as an athlete" after sealing victory in the mountains on the border with Switzerland. She adds to her 15 world titles in several cycling disciplines including mountain biking, cyclo-cross and road racing. She becomes the first French rider to win the modern women's Tour de France in its fourth edition. Jeannie Longo won the title 36 years ago in the former race, the Tour de France Feminin. Ferrand-Prévot, who won gold in women's cross-country mountain biking at last year's Paris Games, had taken the yellow jersey from Kimberley Le Court on Saturday. Lorena Wiebes (Team SD Worx–Protime), who has led the points classification since stage three, did not chase the leading group and was on track to win the green jersey to deny Dutch compatriot Marianne Vos (Visma-Lease a Bike) a third Tour title in the category.
France 24
10 hours ago
- France 24
French rider Ferrand-Prevot solos to victory in women's Tour de France
Olympic mountain bike champion Ferrand-Prevot of Visma, who joined the road racing scene last year, took the overall title by a 3min 42sec margin over Dutch rider Demi Vollering. Last year's winner Katarzyna Niewiadoma of Poland finished third overall at 4min 09sec. The 33-year-old Ferrand-Prevot said she had achieved "the goal of (her) life as an athlete" after sealing victory in the mountains on the border with Switzerland. She adds to her 15 world titles in several cycling disciplines including mountain biking, cyclo-cross and road racing. She becomes the first French rider to win the modern women's Tour de France in its fourth edition. Jeannie Longo won the title 36 years ago in the former race, the Tour de France Feminin. This season, after seven years devoted primarily to mountain biking, she won the women's edition of Paris-Roubaix before focusing on preparing for the Tour. "It was so difficult (this stage). I wanted to win here in the yellow jersey. It's a dream," she said. Bernard Hinault was the last Frenchman to win the 21-day men's Tour de France in 1985 when he claimed his fifth title.
France 24
13 hours ago
- France 24
Marchand says 'passion' burns bright on road to 2028 Olympics
The French superstar took an extended break from swimming after wowing his home fans with four individual golds at the Paris Olympics last year. He announced his return in grand style in Singapore, smashing the 200m medley world record that had stood since 2011 on his way to gold. He completed the double with another imperious victory in the 400m IM, touching the wall in 4min 04.73sec, more than three seconds ahead of Japan's Tomoyuki Matsushita (4:08.32), with Russian Ilia Borodin (4:09.16) third. Marchand said his performances showed he still has the hunger to succeed on the long road towards the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. "It's not perfect, because it's never perfect, but it's more than I expected, especially the world record in the 200m medley," said the 23-year-old. "It shows that I still have a passion for swimming, that I love it. "It's still what I like the most, and that I want to continue." Marchand started the final in lane one after a below-par performance in the morning heats, which saw him qualify seventh fastest. But normality was restored in the final as he took an early lead before obliterating his rivals as the race progressed. Marchand broke Michael Phelps's 400m IM world record two years ago in Japan but his time in Singapore was more than two seconds outside his best mark. "Physically, it was very difficult, more than usual," he said. © 2025 AFP
