Kim Le Court-Pienaar Seizes Tour of Britain Women Lead on Great Orme

The Guardian and Cyclingnews reported that Kim Le Court-Pienaar won stage three of the Tour of Britain Women on Friday, taking the overall race lead with a solo finish on the Great Orme. The Mauritian champion completed the 104.7-kilometre route from Mold in 2 hours, 46 minutes and 10 seconds for AG Insurance-Soudal.

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The hilly North Wales stage narrowed the group before the decisive climb. Cyclingnews reported that Movistar did much of the work as the race approached the coast, reducing the peloton to fewer than 30 riders before some competitors rejoined on the run into Llandudno. Canyon-SRAM and FDJ United-SUEZ then set the pace on the penultimate ascent, leaving about 20 riders at the base of the final climb.

Le Court-Pienaar attacked from the bottom of the 2.5-kilometre climb and rode alone to the summit. Liane Lippert of Movistar finished second, 13 seconds behind, while Liv AlUla Jayco rider Caroline Andersson took third at 20 seconds. Femke de Vries was fourth at 21 seconds, and Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig completed the top five at 23 seconds.

Overnight leader Lorena Wiebes, winner of the opening two stages, could not follow the move on the climb. The SD Worx-Protime rider finished 10th, 37 seconds behind Le Court-Pienaar, but retained the points jersey. The result moved Lippert into second overall and Wiebes into third.

Le Court-Pienaar now holds a total time of 10 hours, 18 minutes and 26 seconds. Her advantage is 26 seconds over Lippert, with Wiebes and Andersson both 35 seconds behind. De Vries is fifth overall at 40 seconds, while Karlijn Swinkels and Mischa Bredewold are tied at 42 seconds.

After the stage, Le Court-Pienaar said the move from the foot of the climb had been planned and credited teammate Letizia Borghesi for positioning her before the attack. She also dedicated the ride to teammate Gladys Verhulst-Wild, who had crashed out of the race. Le Court-Pienaar said she would remain cautious about defending the lead after her own crash while wearing the leader's jersey last year. Two stages remain, beginning with Saturday's 138-kilometre route from Llanidloes to Hay-on-Wye.