Kim Le Court of Mauritius claimed a dramatic stage six victory at the Tour de France Femmes on Thursday, sprinting to the finish in Tournon-sur-Rhône ahead of France's Cédrine Kerbaol and the Netherlands' Puck Pieterse. The 153-kilometre hilly stage, which ran through the Ardèche region of south-eastern France from Montbrison, featured more than 2,600 metres of climbing but ended in a sprint from an eight-rider breakaway group rather than a decisive general classification shake-up.

Le Court's win was all the more remarkable given the obstacles she faced along the way. The 30-year-old Mauritian national champion, riding for AG Insurance-Soudal, crashed early in the stage and then suffered a mechanical problem that forced a bike change with just 15 kilometres to go. Alongside Dutch rider Riejanne Markus, she chased back to the six other leaders before the day's final climb, roughly 10 kilometres from the finish. In a tense finale, Markus made two attempts to ride clear of the group — the second coming in the final kilometre — but was reeled in each time, most recently by Italian champion Elisa Longo Borghini. Le Court then proved the strongest in the sprint.