Kim Le Court had quite the day at the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift.
In the lead of the race for the third day heading into stage 7, the AG Insurance-Soudal rider had an advantage of 26 seconds to Pauline Ferrand-Prévot overnight, starting her toughest test yet.
And what drama unfolded on the ascent and descent of the Col du Granier.
Halfway up the climb, the 29-year-old was dropped by her fellow GC contenders, and for several kilometers Ferrand-Prévot was virtual leader of the race. “When I blew, I really blew hard at first,” Le Court reflected. “The last four kilometers of uphill were difficult, as you could see on TV, and my body completely shut off at that moment.
“I had to focus on my own numbers, my own pace, try to do the best climb as possible, but also not kill myself.”
When Le Court began the descent into Chambéry, she was around 35 seconds back and had a lot of work to do. But her mountain biking skills – and her homework – paid dividends: she closed the gap and caught her rivals.
“I think I almost died a few times on the descent,” she said. “I did the recon of the downhill a few weeks ago so I knew what was coming, and that I had to go full gas.
“I think I went 10 times faster than I did during the recon. My team has been fighting so hard this week for me, they have ridden their hearts out for me. It was my turn to ride my own heart out for them and that’s exactly what I did on the downhill. I just wanted to keep yellow.”
But as the Mauritian closed in on the other Tour de France Femmes GC riders, she came across two unexpected obstacles. “When I got back to the group, I was completely blocked by two FDJ riders at one point, which really wasn’t nice,” she said. “That’s cycling, that’s their tactics, but it was a silly moment.
“I was back in the group and we went around a roundabout, and the group got stretched out. Demi [Vollering] and [the other riders] got a little bit of a gap, and Juliette [Labous] and Évita [Muzic] completely blocked the road.
“It was a small little path and I almost hit the barrier at that point, but I didn’t think about it. I just jumped straight away and screamed to let me through. It is what it is, but I’m glad in the end I didn’t lose time.”
The fearsome Col de la Madeleine awaits, and Le Court’s advantage remains as it was. Her rivals sensed weakness on the Col du Granier, but the race’s current leader isn’t concerned.
An important Plan B: ‘We’ve been trying to keep her under control’
“I’m so excited,” she beamed. “I have the best climber in the race and we have a few cards to play tomorrow. I’ll fight and hopefully light some fireworks.”
That best climber is her Australian teammate Sarah Gigante. Third at the recent Giro d’Italia, Gigante is 1:14 off Le Court in the Tour de France Femmes and is expected to detonate some of those aforementioned pyrotechnics.
AG Insurance-Soudal might still be in yellow tomorrow, but with a different rider. “It takes the pressure off and I don’t think other teams know what’s coming,” Le Court said.
“Sarah has proven to be really good, we saw it in the Giro, and she’s been saving herself the whole week. She is this little bunny, really excited, and we’ve been trying to keep her under control.”
Asked if other teams have underestimated Gigante, Le Court replied: “I think they know, I think they really know and that they’re scared of her but they’re just not saying it. I think people know what Sarah is capable of… we’ll let the legs do the talking tomorrow.
“Tomorrow is a key day, I’ll see how I feel myself. I’m looking forward to it. Two more days to go, and we will for sure fight.”
Also see:
Incredible stage at the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift with a repeat winner, a dropped yellow jersey and an incredible fightback
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