Description
August 6, 2026
5th Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift 2026 🇫🇷 (2.WWT) WE – Stage 6 – Montbrison – Tournon-sur-Rhône : 153,4 km
Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift is a UCI Women’s WorldTour classification stage race that traverses a diverse and demanding array of terrains across France,
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August 6, 2026
5th Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift 2026 🇫🇷 (2.WWT) WE – Stage 6 – Montbrison – Tournon-sur-Rhône : 153,4 km
Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift is a UCI Women’s WorldTour classification stage race that traverses a diverse and demanding array of terrains across France, showcasing the country’s most iconic landscapes—from rolling vineyards and open plains to rugged mountain passes and technical descents. The parcours is designed to test every facet of a rider’s ability, with stages that range from flat, high-speed sprint finishes to grueling mountain ascents featuring gradients of 8–12% on narrow, winding roads. The climbs are often long and sustained, such as those in the Vosges, Alps, or Pyrenees, where the roads snake through dense forests and open pastures before culminating in punishing summit finishes. The descents are fast and technical, with sharp switchbacks and uneven surfaces that demand precision and courage. The race dynamics vary dramatically depending on the stage profile. The flatter stages are typically contested in high-speed bunch sprints, though crosswinds on exposed roads can split the peloton and create opportunities for late breaks. The hilly and mountainous stages, however, are where the race truly unfolds, with attacks launching on the steepest sections or during the technical descents, where gaps can open quickly. The peloton often fractures into smaller groups on the most demanding climbs, while the flatter stages allow for more controlled racing and tactical maneuvering. The finish styles range from uphill sprints on steep, short climbs to reduced-group finishes after long descents or solo moves on the most challenging stages. The Tour de France Femmes is a race of endurance, strategy, and versatility, where the interplay of terrain, weather, and tactics creates a dynamic and unpredictable test for the world’s best riders.
Kim Le Court-Pienaar (AG Insurance-Soudal) won stage 6 at the Tour de France Femmes in the sprint of a group of eight. Cédrine Kerbaol (EF Education-Oatly) finished second, Puck Pieterse (Fenix-Premier Tech) rounded out the podium in Tournon-sur-Rhône.
After the early breakaway of three riders was caught on the Col de Lalouvesc, French champion Célia Gery (FDJ United-Suez) attacked on the descent but did not get away. She tried again near the end of the descent, 34km from the finish, and got a gap.
Pieterse went on the chase and was joined by Elisa Longo Borghini (UAE Team L’IMAD), Kerbaol, Liane Lippert (Movistar), and Sarah Van Dam (Visma-Lease a Bike). Together, they bridged to Gery with 31km to go, and the six riders had a 30-second advantage over a very reduced peloton going into the last classified climb, the Côte de Boucieu-le-Roi.
Longo Borghini set the pace on the climb, keeping the gap stable. Riejanne Markus (Lidl-Trek) attacked from the peloton at the 15km mark, and Le Court-Pienaar immediately jumped across. As the riders in the front group looked at each other on the rise to the bonus sprint, the two chasers closed the gap, and Le Court-Pienaar went to the front of the group to win the bonus sprint.
Longo Borghini led the group down the descent, and when they were 32 seconds up with 5km to go, it was clear that the break would contest the stage. Le Court-Pienaar, Kerbaol, and Markus tried to get away in the final but were all brought back. On the finishing straight, Le Court-Pienaar launched her sprint with 300m to go, holding off Kerbaol and Pieterse to win.
“The race was crazy. I had a mechanical on the downhill before the [second-to-] last climb. I had to change bikes and I was really far [back], but my team was amazing. They brought me back slowly but surely to the bunch, and I got back on top of the [second-to]last climb, which was a really big effort. Then I just tried to stay patient and recover from this big effort,” the stage winner described how her team brought her back after a mechanical at the worst possible moment.
“Riejanne Markus and I bridged to the breakaway, and they were not really cooperating, which is obvious, but I was happy to just still try. I got a gap in the last few kilometres and Elisa closed me down, then when Riejanne Markus made an attack from the back. I knew it was going to happen because that’s the only way she can win a race like this.
“I had to close the gap myself and I was really, really dead, I was on the limit. I can’t believe I still had the legs to sprint. I was really this close to giving up, but I will never give up after the big effort my team did,” Le Court-Pienaar recounted the final.
It is the Mauritian champion’s second career Tour stage victory, and it makes up for the disappointment of the previous three stages.
“I think the team needed it. I’ve been really struggling since the TT day, and I think this really makes our Tour. Of course, we’ve got GC ambitions, but winning a stage in a Tour de France is very special. You know, people don’t really remember top 10, top 5 riders in the Tour, but they do remember stage winners,” she said.
Results :
 WE - Stage 6 </strong> - Montbrison - Tournon-sur-Rhône : 153,4 km
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Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift is a UCI Women’s WorldTour classification stage race that traverses a diverse and demanding array of terrains across France, showcasing the country’s most iconic landscapes—from rolling vineyards and open plains to rugged mountain passes and technical descents. The parcours is designed to test every facet of a rider’s ability, with stages that range from flat, high-speed sprint finishes to grueling mountain ascents featuring gradients of 8–12% on narrow, winding roads. The climbs are often long and sustained, such as those in the Vosges, Alps, or Pyrenees, where the roads snake through dense forests and open pastures before culminating in punishing summit finishes. The descents are fast and technical, with sharp switchbacks and uneven surfaces that demand precision and courage. The race dynamics vary dramatically depending on the stage profile. The flatter stages are typically contested in high-speed bunch sprints, though crosswinds on exposed roads can split the peloton and create opportunities for late breaks. The hilly and mountainous stages, however, are where the race truly unfolds, with attacks launching on the steepest sections or during the technical descents, where gaps can open quickly. The peloton often fractures into smaller groups on the most demanding climbs, while the flatter stages allow for more controlled racing and tactical maneuvering. The finish styles range from uphill sprints on steep, short climbs to reduced-group finishes after long descents or solo moves on the most challenging stages. The Tour de France Femmes is a race of endurance, strategy, and versatility, where the interplay of terrain, weather, and tactics creates a dynamic and unpredictable test for the world’s best riders.
Kim Le Court-Pienaar (AG Insurance-Soudal) won stage 6 at the Tour de France Femmes in the sprint of a group of eight. Cédrine Kerbaol (EF Education-Oatly) finished second, Puck Pieterse (Fenix-Premier Tech) rounded out the podium in Tournon-sur-Rhône.
After the early breakaway of three riders was caught on the Col de Lalouvesc, French champion Célia Gery (FDJ United-Suez) attacked on the descent but did not get away. She tried again near the end of the descent, 34km from the finish, and got a gap.
Pieterse went on the chase and was joined by Elisa Longo Borghini (UAE Team L'IMAD), Kerbaol, Liane Lippert (Movistar), and Sarah Van Dam (Visma-Lease a Bike). Together, they bridged to Gery with 31km to go, and the six riders had a 30-second advantage over a very reduced peloton going into the last classified climb, the Côte de Boucieu-le-Roi.
Longo Borghini set the pace on the climb, keeping the gap stable. Riejanne Markus (Lidl-Trek) attacked from the peloton at the 15km mark, and Le Court-Pienaar immediately jumped across. As the riders in the front group looked at each other on the rise to the bonus sprint, the two chasers closed the gap, and Le Court-Pienaar went to the front of the group to win the bonus sprint.
Longo Borghini led the group down the descent, and when they were 32 seconds up with 5km to go, it was clear that the break would contest the stage. Le Court-Pienaar, Kerbaol, and Markus tried to get away in the final but were all brought back. On the finishing straight, Le Court-Pienaar launched her sprint with 300m to go, holding off Kerbaol and Pieterse to win.
“The race was crazy. I had a mechanical on the downhill before the [second-to-] last climb. I had to change bikes and I was really far [back], but my team was amazing. They brought me back slowly but surely to the bunch, and I got back on top of the [second-to]last climb, which was a really big effort. Then I just tried to stay patient and recover from this big effort,” the stage winner described how her team brought her back after a mechanical at the worst possible moment.
“Riejanne Markus and I bridged to the breakaway, and they were not really cooperating, which is obvious, but I was happy to just still try. I got a gap in the last few kilometres and Elisa closed me down, then when Riejanne Markus made an attack from the back. I knew it was going to happen because that's the only way she can win a race like this.
"I had to close the gap myself and I was really, really dead, I was on the limit. I can't believe I still had the legs to sprint. I was really this close to giving up, but I will never give up after the big effort my team did,” Le Court-Pienaar recounted the final.
It is the Mauritian champion’s second career Tour stage victory, and it makes up for the disappointment of the previous three stages.
“I think the team needed it. I've been really struggling since the TT day, and I think this really makes our Tour. Of course, we've got GC ambitions, but winning a stage in a Tour de France is very special. You know, people don't really remember top 10, top 5 riders in the Tour, but they do remember stage winners,” she said.
<strong>Results : </strong>
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