Kim Le Court Storms to Stage Three Win and Overall Lead at Tour of Britain Women
Kim Le Court attacked on the final climb to win stage three of the Tour of Britain Women and seize the overall race lead on 21 August 2026.
The 30-year-old AG Insurance-Soudal rider launched her move with 2.5km remaining on the Great Orme, the limestone headland towering over the seaside town of Llandudno in north Wales. The stage covered 104.7km from Mold to a summit finish at the top of the Orme — a climb narrow, steep and exposed enough to splinter any group that reaches it together. The Guardian
Le Court crossed the line 13 seconds ahead of Germany's Liane Lippert of Movistar. Sweden's Caroline Andersson, riding for Liv AlUla Jayco, finished third a further seven seconds back. Britain's Lauren Dickson of FDJ United–SUEZ took sixth, and overnight leader Lorena Wiebes could only manage tenth on the climb.
Wiebes, the Dutch sprinter who had won the opening two stages, started the day in the leader's jersey. The GC — the overall standings, calculated on cumulative time across every stage — told a different story by the finish. Le Court now leads the race by 26 seconds over Lippert and 35 over Wiebes, with two days of racing left.
That the Great Orme decided things was no surprise. The climb ramps up in sections above 15% and offers no shelter from the Irish Sea wind. It rewards riders who can produce sustained power on steep gradients — the kind of effort that suits a puncheur (a rider who excels on short, hard climbs) rather than a pure sprinter like Wiebes.
For Le Court, the result builds on a strong August. She scored a stage win and a top-ten overall finish at the Tour of the Mediterranean in Nice earlier in the month, then carried that form into Britain. According to Cyclingnews, the Tour of Britain Women forms part of her build-up toward a bid at the Montreal World Championships later this season.
A pre-race interview published on the AG Insurance-Soudal website last August captured her mindset in a sentence that now reads like a blueprint: "Don't stop dreaming. The road will be tough, and sometimes lonely, but believe me, it's possible." AG Insurance-Soudal
Two stages remain. Wiebes trails by 35 seconds and will need something special — a long-range attack, a crosswind split, or a time bonus at an intermediate sprint — to wrestle the jersey back. Le Court, for her part, has shown she can climb away from the best in the field. The race has its leader.
