Kim Le Court (AG Insurance-Soudal Team) heads into the Tour of Britain Women’s two key climbing stages as the overall favourite, sitting third on GC after a crash ended her challenge last year.
The Mauritian champion won stage one into Redcar in 2025 but crashed the next day and did not start stage three. This year, she has identified Friday’s summit finish on The Great Orme and Saturday’s climbing-heavy route to Hay-on-Wye as her main targets.
“Every day looks like a good day. Every day looks like a GC day,” Le Court told Velora. “But I think day three and day four look quite exciting. But of course, it’s only day three and day four, so we have to get there in one piece. And if the legs are there, then I’m sure we can have a good Tour.”
Le Court starts the Welsh stages third overall, 14 seconds behind race leader Lorena Wiebes (Team SD Worx-Protime), who won the first two stages comfortably in bunch sprints. Her third place in the stage-two bunch sprint in Blackpool earned her four potentially useful bonus seconds before the terrain turns in her favour.
The Great Orme presents the first GC test
The third stage starts in the north Wales town of Mold, then covers 104.7km, including the category two climbs of Moel Fodiar and Nebo, before the final 2.5km ascent from Llandudno to The Great Orme. The finishing climb averages about 6%, with ramps approaching 15%. The uphill finish provides Le Court with her clearest opportunity to recover the 14 seconds conceded to Wiebes during the opening two stages.
The penultimate stage, from Llanidloes to Hay-on-Wye, covers 138km on a saw-tooth profile with 2,227 metres of elevation gain. The stage could split the peloton, especially with its final two climbs, Hengoed and Clyro Hill, falling inside the last 30km before a descent and short, flat run to the finish.
Le Court was a pre-race favourite, with her performances on steep terrain this season supporting that status and her Blackpool result showing that she can also collect time bonuses in faster finishes.
The weather has already affected the race, with heavy rain making conditions difficult during the opening two stages. Stage two was also stopped after a road traffic incident on the course ahead of the race’s rolling road closure.
“It’s unpredictable,” Le Court said. “With the weather here, I think I’m also used to kind of having unpredictable weather coming from Mauritius. But it is Britain, so I think you should expect the worst, and if it’s sunny, then it’s a bonus.”
