Le Court, of AG Insurance-soudal, Crashed Early in the Stage and Was Forced to Change Bikes 15 Km

Kimberley Le Court won stage six of the Tour de France Femmes on Thursday, sprinting to victory after overcoming a mechanical failure, while Swiss rider Marlen Reusser retained the overall lead. Le Court, of AG Insurance-Soudal, crashed early in the stage and was forced to change bikes 15 km from the end. The 30-year-old Mauritian rejoined the pack before the final climb, then launched a sprint with 300m to go, holding off French rider Cedrine Kerbaol, with Puck Pieterse of the Netherlands third.

Reusser, of Movistar, kept the yellow jersey after the 153.4km ride from Montbrison to Tournon-sur-Rhone, leading Dutch rider Demi Vollering by 12 seconds. Friday's stage seven, the queen stage, is 146.8km from La Voulte-sur-Rhone to a summit finish on Mont Ventoux. Le Court's win was her second in the Tour de France Femmes, following her stage five victory last year.

She praised her team's "amazing" bike change, saying she was "really, really dead" but managed to close the gap and still had the legs to sprint. Stage six results: 1. Kim Le Court (Mau, AG Insurance-Soudal) 4hrs 1min 48secs; 2. Cedrine Kerbaol (Fra, EF Education-Oatly) same time; 3. Puck Pieterse (Ned, Fenix-Premier Tech); 4. Sarah Van Dam (Can, Visma-Lease A Bike); 7. Elisa Longo Borghini (Ita, UAE Team L'Imad) +2secs; 8. Riejanne Markus (Ned, Lidl-Trek) +5secs; 9. Dominika Wlodarczyk (Pol, UAE Team L'Imad) +28secs. General classification after stage six: 1. Marlen Reusser (Swi/Movistar) 19hrs 43mins 34secs; 2. Demi Vollering (Ned/FDJ–Suez) +12secs; 3. Kasia Niewiadoma (Pol/Canyon–SRAM) +1min 17secs; 4. Elisa Longo Borghini (Ita/UAE Team-L'imad) +2min 28secs; 5. Antonia Niedermaier (Ger/Canyon–SRAM) +2min 40secs; 6. Dominika Wlodarczyk (Pol/UAE Team-L'imad) +2min 54secs; 7. Isabella Holmgren (Can/Lidl-Trek) +3min 5secs; 8. Cedrine Kerbaol (Fra/EF Education-Oatly) +3min 7secs; 9. Kim Le Court (Mau, AG Insurance-Soudal) +3min 26secs; 10. Paula Blasi (Spa/UAE Team ADQ) +3min 51secs.