‘A little personal win for me’ – Kim Le Court-Pienaar’s Tour de France Femmes GC quest off to a good start as ‘best of the rest’ behind unbeatable Wiebes

Kim Le Court-Pienaar may not have crossed the line first on the opening stage of the Tour de France Femmes, but the Mauritian champion called the outcome in Lausanne “a little personal win” as she finished second behind Lorena Wiebes.

Most predictions before the Grand Départ placed the Dutch super-sprinter firmly at the top of the favourites list to take the yellow jersey on stage 1. She duly did that, darting clear of a lead group largely consisting of GC favourites to take her sixth career Tour stage win and wear yellow again, four years after her triumph in Paris.

AG Insurance-Soudal leader Le Court-Pienaar has a trio of yellow jerseys hanging in her cupboard, having won stage 5 last year before finishing 16th overall in Châtel. Her sights are set higher this year, but she was pleased with her opening day result despite missing out on another yellow jersey.

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“We did what we could, and unfortunately, we knew that there was a 50-50 chance that Lorena could be there. So we know that when she’s there, it’s very hard to beat her,” Le Court-Pienaar told a group of reporters, including Cyclingnews, after the stage.

“But I came second behind her, and I think that’s a little personal win for me. She’s the best sprinter in the world, so it’s good to know that I’m the best of the rest.”

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As if Le Court-Pienaar’s intentions for the week weren’t already clear, she warmed down on the time trial bike in Lausanne.

As a rider who made her name in the hills, the race against the clock isn’t her strongest suit – she finished 21st at the stage 4 time trial in June’s Tour de Suisse en route to fourth place overall – but she’s determined to figure in the GC battle, wherever she may end up.

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“I think we were pretty clear that we’re coming here for the best possible GC position. Whether that’s a fifth, fourth, third, eighth, we’ll do the best we can,” she said.

“We obviously want to hit the highest position possible, and I haven’t done a lot of time trials in the past, so I’m trying to get used to the bike as much as possible.”

Le Court-Pienaar passed the first of nine tests at this year’s race, having avoided several crashes that littered the stage – including one which took down fellow GC contender Marlen Reusser. There were also challenging temperatures to deal with.

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“The heat was really probably the hardest part of today. I wasn’t expecting to be this warm. I really struggled with that, but everyone’s in the same situation, so we just have to deal with the best we can,” she said, before talking about the tense day in the saddle and those crashes

“It was crazy, very crazy. I think everyone was really tense from the start, but we expected it. It’s the first stage of the Tour de France Femmes, and most teams could win today, so I think that’s why it was really nervous.

“Everyone was ready for it, but there were a few crashes. I got stuck behind one, but luckily none of us got caught up in it, and that’s the most important thing.

“I’m happy to be here. I’ve trained really hard, and the girls have trained really hard as well. We’re really in a good space and really want to have a good week, so we’re here to make a statement. Hopefully we can do something special.”

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