{"id":259315,"date":"2026-08-23T18:33:36","date_gmt":"2026-08-23T18:33:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/08\/23\/kim-le-court-pienaar-comes-full-circle-at-tour-of-britain-women-to-take-her-first-ever-gc-victory\/"},"modified":"2026-08-23T18:33:36","modified_gmt":"2026-08-23T18:33:36","slug":"kim-le-court-pienaar-comes-full-circle-at-tour-of-britain-women-to-take-her-first-ever-gc-victory","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/08\/23\/kim-le-court-pienaar-comes-full-circle-at-tour-of-britain-women-to-take-her-first-ever-gc-victory\/","title":{"rendered":"Kim Le Court-Pienaar comes full circle at Tour of Britain Women to take her first-ever GC victory"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div id=\"article-body\">\n<p id=\"elk-948c8e7a-9f20-11f1-b0b0-43f9277d591b\">The 2026 edition of the Tour of Britain Women was the third time <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/riders\/kim-le-court-pienaar\/\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/riders\/kim-le-court-pienaar\/\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-article-category=\"pro-cycling\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/riders\/kim-le-court-pienaar\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Kim Le Court-Pienaar<\/a> (AG Insurance-Soudal) lined up at the British stage race, hoping to put her previous experiences from 2015 and 2025 behind her. After an impressive solo victory on The Great Orme uphill finish on stage 3, she raced the final two stages in the green jersey of the GC leader and kept the lead to the finish to celebrate her first-ever GC victory.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m so grateful for the team I had around me this week, because without them, none of this would have been possible. We raced with full hearts for Gladys [Verhulst-Wild]. Losing her so early was hard, and today\u2019s win is for her. This was a true team effort, and I couldn\u2019t be more proud,\u201d said Le Court-Pienaar after receiving the winner\u2019s trophy on the podium in Royal Leamington Spa.<\/p>\n<p><a id=\"elk-seasonal\"\/><\/p>\n<aside data-article-category=\"pro-cycling\" data-block-type=\"embed\" data-render-type=\"fte\" data-skip=\"dealsy\" data-widget-type=\"seasonal\" class=\"ecom-root\"\/>\n<p id=\"elk-948c8e7a-9f20-11f1-b0b0-43f9277d591b-2\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">Verhulst-Wild had been the Mauritian champion\u2019s roommate at the race but crashed out on stage 1, and this brought back memories of the 2025 race when Le Court-Pienaar won stage 2, moved into the leader\u2019s jersey, but then crashed with Verhulst-Wild on stage 3. Both had to abandon the race.<\/p>\n<div class=\"my-6 w-full overflow-hidden rounded-[10px] lg:my-8\" data-component-name=\"JwPlayer:Carousel\" data-jwp-carousel=\"\" data-jwp-carousel-payload=\"{&quot;ids&quot;:{&quot;playerID&quot;:&quot;jYDCcabO&quot;,&quot;searchPlaylistID&quot;:&quot;gwjdoYHD&quot;,&quot;divID&quot;:&quot;botr_gwjdoYHD_jYDCcabO_div&quot;,&quot;fallbackPlaylistID&quot;:&quot;gwjdoYHD&quot;,&quot;fallbackDivID&quot;:&quot;botr_gwjdoYHD_jYDCcabO_div&quot;,&quot;key&quot;:&quot;X9\\\/mXVGac0NphghLH9hZaqWA5d3dhAM\\\/Ih07grnEyMLjuO2E&quot;,&quot;tintLogo&quot;:true,&quot;useSearchPlaylist&quot;:false,&quot;enabled&quot;:true},&quot;signPostingEnabled&quot;:true,&quot;signPostingLinkEnabled&quot;:true,&quot;waitForAdLoad&quot;:false,&quot;hidePlayerOnDesktop&quot;:false,&quot;hidePlayerOnMobile&quot;:false,&quot;hidePlayerOnTablet&quot;:false}\">\n<div class=\"flex flex-nowrap items-center justify-between gap-3 bg-zinc-900 px-[14px] py-3\" data-jwp-carousel-header=\"\">\n<p><span class=\"inline-flex items-center gap-1.5 text-sm font-article-heading capitalize leading-5 text-white whitespace-nowrap\"><span class=\"jwp-carousel-title-mobile\"\/><span class=\"jwp-carousel-title-desktop\">Latest Videos From<\/span><span class=\"jwp-carousel-brand\">Cyclingnews<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">\u201cI had a bad experience last year, and I just wanted to redeem myself after that. In 2015 I came here, and I was dead last, so I didn\u2019t have a good experience of the Tour of Britain in the past. This is my third try, and I said if I did a good tour and finished on a high then I wouldn\u2019t come back \u2026 but it is just a saying,\u201d said Le Court-Pienaar.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">Her first Tour of Britain had been in 2015. 19 years old at the time, Le Court entered what was then still named the Women\u2019s Tour, her first UCI stage race, and while she did finish the race, she was the lanterne rouge in 83rd place, over an hour down on the winner.<\/p>\n<aside data-component-name=\"Recirculation:ArticleRiver\" data-recirculation-type=\"inline\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"Trending Bar\" data-nosnippet=\"\" class=\"clear-both pt-2 pb-0 mb-4\">\n        <span class=\"&#10;            flex&#10;            after:content-[''] after:flex-1 after:ml-4 after:my-[0.7rem] after:border-t after:border-solid after:border-t-[#ccc]&#10;            before:content-[''] before:flex-1 before:mr-4 before:my-[0.7rem] before:border-t before:border-solid before:border-t-[#ccc]&#10;            font-article-heading pb-0 text-[length:var(--article-river-title--font-size,1em)] uppercase sm:text-[length:var(--article-river-title--font-size,0.875em)] font-bold&#10;        \"><br \/>\n            You may like<br \/>\n        <\/span><\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">Another troubled season on a European UCI team dissuaded Le Court from pursuing a top-level road career. Instead, she turned to mountain biking, and after the 2023 season, she was given a second chance by AG Insurance-Soudal.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">Improving year-on-year ever since, Le Court-Pienaar made history as the first African winner of Li\u00e8ge-Bastogne-Li\u00e8ge, men or women, in 2025, then went on to win a stage of the Tour de France Femmes and wore the yellow jersey for four stages.<\/p>\n<div id=\"slice-container-newsletterForm-articleInbodyContent-zBDTkDaYUY2DWLSqkktYSU\" class=\"slice-container newsletter-inbodyContent-slice newsletterForm-articleInbodyContent-zBDTkDaYUY2DWLSqkktYSU slice-container-newsletterForm\">\n<div data-hydrate=\"true\" class=\"newsletter-form__wrapper newsletter-form__wrapper--inbodyContent\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-form__container\">\n<section class=\"newsletter-form__top-bar\"\/>\n<section class=\"newsletter-form__main-section\">\n<p class=\"newsletter-form__strapline\">The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">In 2026, her spring campaign was interrupted by crashes in Milano-San Remo and the Tour of Flanders that prevented her from defending her Li\u00e8ge-Bastogne-Li\u00e8ge title and kept the now-30-year-old out of racing for over two months, only returning at the Tour de Suisse Women.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">After winning the Mauritian ITT and road titles for the third year in a row to keep her striking red-blue-yellow-green champion\u2019s jersey, Le Court-Pienaar again won a stage of the Tour de France Femmes, and her first GC victory is another milestone.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">The next big highlight will be the World Championships in Montr\u00e9al, Canada. A downside will be the lack of team support as Mauritius has no other riders on the WorldTour level \u2013 but on Sunday, she was once again the strongest rider on Sun Rising Hill, matching and replying to others\u2019 attacks. Through Burton Dassett Hills Country Park, she even led the peloton from the foot of the climb to the top at a hard pace to ensure there were no attacks.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">In a shape like this, Le Court-Pienaar has to be reckoned among the favourites in Canada in September since she has developed the punch to stay with the best on hills like the Voie Camillien-Houde and a sprint that few other riders in that category can match.<\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-948c8fb0-9f20-11f1-a1da-d535167cdb49\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\"><strong>For unbeatable coverage across road, gravel and tech, subscribe to Cyclingnews. You&#8217;ll get comprehensive race coverage of La Vuelta a Espa\u00f1a, subscriber-exclusive analysis from our expert columnists, in-depth features and industry-leading tech insight. Plus, the Cyclingnews app lets you follow the action wherever you go! <\/strong><a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/subscription-paid\/?utm_source=Referral+link&amp;utm_medium=Website&amp;utm_campaign=LV26\" target=\"_blank\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/subscription-paid\/?utm_source=Referral+link&amp;utm_medium=Website&amp;utm_campaign=LV26\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-article-category=\"pro-cycling\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/subscription-paid\/?utm_source=Referral+link&amp;utm_medium=Website&amp;utm_campaign=LV26\" rel=\"noopener\"><u><strong>Join today.<\/strong><\/u><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/pro-cycling\/teams-riders\/kim-le-court-pienaar-comes-full-circle-at-tour-of-britain-women-to-take-her-first-ever-gc-victory\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The 2026 edition of the Tour of Britain Women was the third time Kim Le Court-Pienaar (AG Insurance-Soudal) lined up at the British stage race, hoping to put her previous experiences from 2015 and 2025 behind her. After an impressive solo victory on The Great Orme uphill finish on stage 3, she raced the final [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":259316,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6804],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-259315","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cycling"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/259315","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=259315"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/259315\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/259316"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=259315"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=259315"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=259315"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}