Mauritian Kimberley Le Court Pienaar became the first African to win a stage at the Tour de France Femmes with a late push on Wednesday, reclaiming the yellow jersey during a marathon 165.8km ride from Jaunay-Marigny to Gueret.
Le Court (AG Insurance-Soudal), 29, who led the general classification after stage two but was overtaken by Marianne Vos (Visma-Lease a Bike), won a breakneck downhill push to the finish, edging 2023 champion Demi Vollering.
“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 try for the victory,” Le Court said.
The fifth stage, the longest in the Tour this year, went through a relatively flat terrain before three climbs in the final 35km and saw several failed breakaway attempts as the peloton covered 46.5km in the first hour despite multiple crashes.
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Green jersey holder Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime) recovered from a crash to rejoin the peloton, but struggled to keep up after the first climb, ultimately finishing 58th.
American Olympic champion Kristen Faulkner (EF Education-Oatly) abandoned the race after her third crash in three days. Maria Giulia Confalonieri, Elisa Balsamo and Monica Trinca Colonel also quit the race.
Vos, who stayed in the peloton behind a leading group for most of the race, attacked in the final 15km during the mountainous part of the stage, but fell behind during the final uphill push, dropping to sixth in the general classification.
Vollering (FDJ-Suez) rose to third overall, while Pauline Ferrand Prevot (Visma-Lease a Bike) moved up to second, sitting 18 seconds behind Le Court in the general classification.
Lara Gillespie is 95th in the general classification, with Mia Griffin (96th) and Fiona Mangan (99th) close behind her.
The Tour continues on Thursday with a mountainous 123.7km ride from Clermont-Ferrand to Ambert.
