Maëva Squiban from Brittany won stage six of the Tour de France Femmes with a daring 32km solo breakaway through the forested climbs of Livradois-Forez National Park to Ambert. The 23-year-old held off the chasing favorites on the final ascent to secure the biggest victory of her career and France’s second stage win since the women’s race was relaunched as the Tour de France Femmes in 2022.
Riding for UAE Team ADQ, Squiban attacked alone three kilometers from the top of the Col du Chansert and maintained her lead through the fast descent, bonus sprint, and final stretch on Boulevard Henri IV.
“I couldn’t believe it when they told me I had a minute and a half lead,” she said. “I just wanted to get ahead before the climb to the bonus sprint, then hoped to stay with a small group to the finish.”
Behind her, Kim Le Court maximized her efforts at the bonus sprints, gaining four seconds over defending champion Kasia Niewiadoma to extend her overall lead. “The plan was to control the race and see how my legs felt,” Le Court said. “With a rider already ahead, I focused on taking the remaining bonus seconds. We tried to catch Squiban, but when that didn’t work, I aimed to gain more time at the finish. It couldn’t have gone much better—except maybe winning the stage.”
Le Court now leads by 26 seconds over Pauline Ferrand-Prévot and 30 seconds over Niewiadoma, who moved past pre-race favorite Demi Vollering into third.
The mountainous stage, featuring 2,475m of climbing across four categorized ascents, including the first-category Col du Béal, created significant time gaps. Marianne Vos dropped from sixth to 29th in the overall standings.
Though the main contenders stayed together over the 10km climb, Cédrine Kerbaol and Niewiadoma attempted a move on the descent before being reeled in at the base of the Col du Chansert—setting the stage for Squiban’s decisive attack.
Vollering’s FDJ-Suez teammate Juliette Labous chased in the closing kilometers, but the other favorites held back.
Ferrand-Prévot, the Olympic mountain biking gold medalist, has been quietly strong since her explosive start on stage one, raising French hopes of ending the nation’s 40-year Tour de France drought.
FDJ-Suez team manager Stephen Delcourt’s concerns about Vollering’s chances may grow with the possibility of a French rider winning under the guidance of his rival, Visma-Lease a Bike’s Jos Van Emden—though their public feud now seems resolved.
Friday’s stage from Bourg-en-Bresse to Chambéry, while less steep, includes the 1,134m Col du Granier summit 17km from the finish and promises more challenges. With three mountain stages remaining, 132 of the original 154 riders are still in contention.
