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'I wasn't expecting to come so fast into it' – Kim Le Court-Pienaar seizes lead with blistering attack on Tour of Britain Women stage three The Mauritian rider took over the top spot from Lorena Wiebes in the North Wales stage An untouchable attack on the Great Orme by Kim Le Court-Pienaar (AG Insurance-Soudal) netted her the stage victory and the GC lead on stage three of the Tour of Britain Women. Erstwhile leader Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime) was unable to live with the pace and slipped backwards on the steepest part of the climb. Second place went to Liane Lippert (Movistar) at 13 seconds, and Caroline Andersson (Liv AlUla Jayco) came in third, another seven seconds back. Wiebes, who finished 10th, 37 seconds back, is now in third place, though retains her green points jersey. "It was hard. I wasn't expecting to come so fast into it, we almost had to brake around the corners," said Le Court-Pienaar after the race. "But yeah, it was the plan to go from the bottom and I got a perfect leadout from my teammate Letizia [Borghesi], so I'm really thankful she was here. "I rode my heart for Gladys [Verhulst-Wild] my teammate, because she crashed out from the race, which was really sad. We came to this race together to redeem ourselves – we crashed out last year together. She's my roommate. I'm very sad she's not here – today was for her. Asked whether she was confident she could defend her lead over the final two stages, Le Court replied: "I think you can never be too confident. Last year I had the leader's jersey on day one and day two I crashed out, so I think we have to keep our head on our shoulders, keep positive and keep fighting till the end." The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox! Le Court mounted her attack at the foot of the 2.5km climb, coming out of a severe hairpin that led straight into some of its steepest slopes. It was clearly a pre-planned move, and one which nobody could come close to matching. Velon stats post-race revealed that Le Court had averaged an impressive 390 watts for the 5:48 duration of her attack. She also averaged 24.2kph on the 6% slopes and posted a maximum power of 820 watts. Tomorrow's stage four sees the race tackle a meandering, 138km route through mid-Wales, from Llanidloes to Hay-on-Wye. While the final six kilometre run-in is flat, the rest of the day is incessantly lumpy, and Le Court will have to stay on her toes throughout. Tour of Britain Women 2026, stage 3: Mold > The Great Orme, 104.7km 1. Kim Le Court-Pienaar (Mau) AG Insurance-Soudal, in 2:46:10 2. Liane Lippert (Ger) Movistar, +13s 3. Caroline Andersson (Swe) Liv AlUla Jayco, +20s 4. Femke De Vries (Ned) Visma-Lease a Bike, +21s 5. Cecile Uttrup Ludwid (Den) Canyon-SRAM, +23s 6. Lauren Dickson (FDJ United-SUEZ), +26s 7. Mischa Bredewold (Ned) SD Worx-Protime, +28s 8. Karlijn Swinkels (Ned) UAE Team L'Imad, at s.t. 9. Eleonora Gasparrini (UAE L'Imad), +32s 10. Lorena Wiebes (Ned) SD Worx-Protime, +37s General Classification after stage 3 1. Kim Le Court-Pienaar (Mau) AG Insurance-Soudal, in 10:18:26 2. Liane Lippert (Ger) Movistar, +26s 3. Lorena Wiebes (Ned) SD Worx-Protime, +35s 4. Caroline Andersson (Swe) Liv AlUla Jayco, at s.t. 5. Femke De Vries (Ned) Visma-Lease a Bike, +40s 6. Karlijn Swinkels (Ned) UAE Team L'Imad, +42s 7. Mischa Bredewold (Ned) SD Worx-Protime 8. Cecile Uttrup Ludwid (Den) Canyon-SRAM, both s.t. 9. Lauren Dickson (FDJ United-SUEZ), +45s 10. Eleonora Gasparrini (UAE L'Imad), +51s After cutting his teeth on local and national newspapers, James began at Cycling Weekly as a sub-editor in 2000 when the current office was literally all fields. Eventually becoming chief sub-editor, in 2016 he switched to the job of full-time writer, and covers news, racing and features. He has worked at a variety of races, from the Classics to the Giro d'Italia – and this year will be his seventh Tour de France. A lifelong cyclist and cycling fan, James's racing days (and most of his fitness) are now behind him. But he still rides regularly, both on the road and on the gravelly stuff. You must confirm your public display name before commenting Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.