Kim Le Court questions passive rivals as Visma dismiss Ferrand-Prévot concerns

With race leader Lorena Wiebes distanced on the Col de la Faucille, Le Court suddenly found herself with a genuine opportunity to move into the overall lead. The Mauritian champion animated the finale, but the general classification group failed to organise an effective pursuit as Haugset continued alone towards Poligny.

“The stage did not unfold as I expected,” Le Court told Eurosport after the finish. “We knew the gap to the race leader had to be less than a minute at the finish for me to take yellow.

“Unfortunately, my teammates had already done so much work early in the race that they were no longer there when I needed them in the final.”

Haugset attacked on the Col de la Savine and was allowed to build an advantage of more than five minutes. Kopecky was the only rider to commit to a sustained chase, but she eventually finished 1:24 behind the Uno-X Mobility rider.

Le Court tried to force a response from the favourites on the final climb, prompting Demi Vollering, Célia Gery, Femke de Vries and defending champion Pauline Ferrand-Prévot to follow. Kasia Niewiadoma then launched another attack, briefly putting Ferrand-Prévot under pressure before the main group of contenders came back together with 13km remaining.

The Mauritian felt several teams had passed up an opportunity to gain time or at least put their rivals under pressure.

“It is what it is,” she said. “I expected the other teams to do something because there was an opportunity for them as well.

“Anything can happen in a final. I could puncture. You can at least try something towards the finish. It is a shame they did not, but perhaps they are confident in the time trial.”

While Le Court was disappointed by the cautious racing, Visma | Lease a Bike saw the finale as confirmation of what the team had expected from both Ferrand-Prévot and her rivals.

Ferrand-Prévot did not speak to the media after the stage, but sports director Jos van Emden said the defending champion had reported feeling comfortable despite being briefly distanced.

“She said she felt good and that everything went according to plan,” Van Emden explained to Sporza.

The Dutchman insisted Ferrand-Prévot’s difficulty in responding immediately to sharp accelerations was not a cause for concern. Similar situations occurred during her victorious 2025 Tour de France Femmes campaign.

“These were scenarios we had discussed beforehand,” Van Emden said. “Then it becomes a matter of seeing how the competition responds, and our analysis of the rivals was confirmed.

“It costs them energy too. Last year, she also had to close a gap several times after an acceleration. That is simply part of the type of rider she is. When the climbs become longer, it will be different again.”

Van Emden also acknowledged the impression Le Court had made but suggested the nature of the later mountain stages could produce a different picture.

“Le Court is impressive now,” he said. “She was last year as well, until the climbs became longer. I am not saying we will beat her. It is simply about the characteristics of each rider.”

Although Visma remained calm after Ferrand-Prévot rejoined the favourites, Van Emden admitted there had been some tense moments inside the team car.

“I was certainly nervous in the car too, but I was not surprised,” he said.