Kim Le Court-Pienaar won stage 3 of the 2026 Lloyds Tour of Britain Women with a decisive late attack on The Great Orme, taking both the stage victory and the race lead after dropping Lorena Wiebes on the final climb.
The AG Insurance-Soudal rider attacked with around 2 kilometres remaining on the steep finale above Llandudno and quickly opened a gap that nobody could close. Liane Lippert finished second for Movistar at 13 seconds, with Caroline Andersson third for Liv AlUla Jayco at 20 seconds.
Femke de Vries was fourth for Team Visma | Lease a Bike at 21 seconds, ahead of Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig of Canyon SRAM at 23 seconds. Lauren Dickson, Mischa Bredewold, Karlijn Swinkels, Eleonora Camilla Gasparrini and Wiebes completed the top 10, with the former race leader finishing 37 seconds down after fighting to limit her losses.
A stage built around The Great Orme
Stage 3 was the first real GC test of the 2026 Lloyds Tour of Britain Women. The 104.7-kilometre route from Mold to the Great Orme Tramway was not especially long, but the final climb gave the stage a very different shape from the opening sprint days.
The finish was always the obvious danger point. The final 2.5 kilometres rose at an average of 6.1 per cent, with the hardest section coming in the final 1.5 kilometres above 7 per cent. It was steep enough to expose pure sprinters, hard enough for the punchier climbers, and close enough to the line for one sharp attack to settle both the stage and the race lead.
Wiebes started the day in control after winning the opening two stages in Cockermouth and Blackpool, but this was the first finish that seriously tested whether she could carry that lead through a climb-heavy finale.
Le Court-Pienaar had no such doubts. The Mauritian champion was one of the clear favourites for the finish and proved it with the most decisive move of the race.
Kopecky out before the start
The stage began without Lotte Kopecky, who did not start because of illness. That left SD Worx-Protime without one of their strongest options for controlling a hard finale and protecting Wiebes on a climb that was always going to stretch her.
There was also another significant pre-stage development, with S’annara Grove not starting after being provisionally suspended following an adverse finding for the peptide hormone ipamorelin.
Once the racing began, there was no settled breakaway to shape the day. Instead, the peloton stayed nervous and compact, with teams looking ahead to the climb-heavy second half and the decisive finish on The Great Orme.
The race was not defined by a long escape. It was defined by the way the strongest teams gradually turned up the pressure before the final climb.
Movistar make the race hard
Movistar were one of the most active teams through the hillier middle section of the stage, working for Lippert and making sure the day became selective before the final climb.
Their pressure helped thin the peloton and stopped the stage from becoming a simple final-kilometre drag race. With Lippert sitting close enough overall to benefit from a hard finish, Movistar had every reason to keep the pace high and test the riders around Wiebes.
FDJ United-Suez and Lidl-Trek were also prominent later in the stage, adding to the pressure along the coastal roads before The Great Orme. That work reduced the bunch and forced riders into position early, especially with the final climb waiting so close to the finish.
Wiebes remained in contention, but the race was already moving towards terrain where Le Court-Pienaar, Lippert and the other punchier riders had the advantage.
Le Court-Pienaar takes bonus seconds
The intermediate sprint in Dolgarrog became an important moment in the GC battle.
Le Court-Pienaar won the sprint, taking 10 points and 3 bonus seconds. Bredewold was second, taking 7 points and 2 seconds, while Wiebes was third, collecting 5 points and 1 second. Fleur Moors and Consonni took the remaining points.
Those seconds mattered. Before the final climb, Wiebes was still virtually in control, but Le Court-Pienaar had already cut into her advantage and strengthened her own position before the stage hit its hardest section.
It was a warning. Le Court-Pienaar was not simply waiting for the finish. She was racing the whole stage like a rider who believed she could take the leader’s jersey.
Dickson takes the mountains jersey
The mountains classification also shifted on the road to The Great Orme. Dickson was first over the Nebo climb, ahead of Kate Courtney, Bredewold, Marta Jaskulska and Swinkels.
That moved Dickson into the QOM jersey, giving FDJ United-Suez a classification reward on a stage where they had also helped make the race harder in the approach to the finale.
The QOM fight was not the main story of the day, but it added to the pressure before the decisive climb. The second half of the stage carried much more elevation than the opening two stages, and the repeated climbs ensured the final bunch was already reduced before the steep finish began.
By the time the peloton approached Llandudno, the stage had become exactly what the route promised: a punchy GC test rather than a sprint stage with a climb at the end.
Crashes and splits before the finale
The approach to the final climb was not completely clean. A crash in the peloton involved Swinkels, Marthe Truyen, Quinty Ton and Ricarda Bauernfeind, adding another layer of disruption on a day when positioning was already becoming increasingly important.
Movistar, Team Picnic PostNL and UAE Team L’IMAD were among the teams seen working in the peloton as the race moved into the final 15 kilometres. Lidl-Trek also took up responsibility late, with Riejanne Markus and Bauernfeind among those helping stretch the group.
The peloton was down to around 35 riders, then around 20 as the race reached the final kilometres. Several riders were dropped before the climb proper, including Consonni and Zoe Bäckstedt, which underlined how hard the approach had become.
Wiebes was still there, but the group around her was no longer a sprint peloton. It was a reduced selection of the strongest riders in the race.
The Great Orme makes the selection
The final climb began with the race already under pressure. The road rose sharply, and the profile of the last 3 kilometres showed why the finish had been circled from the start: gradients around 6, 7, 8, 9 and even 11 per cent appeared in quick succession before the line.
Canyon SRAM and Lidl-Trek had helped keep the pace high before the lower slopes, while FDJ United-Suez and Team Picnic PostNL were also involved in the final run-in. Wiebes was positioned near the front, but the terrain was no longer in her favour.
The group was down to around 20 riders with 5 kilometres remaining. From there, the final climb quickly separated the riders who could fight for the stage from those simply trying to survive.
Le Court-Pienaar was already well placed, sitting near the front as the road began to bite. Then she made the move that decided the day.
Le Court-Pienaar attacks with two kilometres to go
Le Court-Pienaar attacked at the bottom of the steepest part of the finish, around 2 kilometres from the line.
The acceleration was immediate and decisive. None of the other favourites could follow. Lippert was the only rider who managed to stay within any kind of contact, but even she could not close the gap once Le Court-Pienaar had opened it.
Behind, the race split into small groups. Wiebes cracked from the front selection, but she did not collapse. Instead, she tried to limit the damage, knowing that every second still mattered for the overall classification.
Le Court-Pienaar kept pressing through the steepest ramps. This was not a late sprint from a reduced group. It was a proper uphill attack, timed early enough to make a meaningful gap and strong enough to hold all the way to the finish.
Solo victory and the race lead
Le Court-Pienaar crossed the line alone in 2:46:10, taking a major stage win and moving into the overall lead.
Lippert came in second at 13 seconds, continuing Movistar’s strong day after the team had done so much work to make the stage hard. Andersson was third at 20 seconds for Liv AlUla Jayco, confirming her strength on a finish that suited the punchier climbers rather than the sprinters.
De Vries finished fourth at 21 seconds, with Ludwig fifth at 23 seconds. Dickson, Bredewold, Swinkels and Gasparrini followed before Wiebes arrived in 10th at 37 seconds.
That was enough to move Le Court-Pienaar into the leader’s jersey. After bonus seconds and the finish gap, she leads the general classification by 26 seconds from Lippert, with Wiebes now third at 35 seconds. Andersson sits fourth, also at 35 seconds, with De Vries fifth at 40 seconds.
Wiebes limits the damage
Wiebes lost the leader’s jersey, but her ride was still impressive given the difficulty of the finish.
The SD Worx-Protime sprinter came into the stage after two dominant wins, but The Great Orme was always likely to expose the difference between sprint power and uphill punch. Once Le Court-Pienaar attacked, Wiebes could not follow, but she kept the gap to 37 seconds and remains third overall at 35 seconds.
That keeps her in the race. The overall win has become much harder, and the momentum has clearly shifted to Le Court-Pienaar, but Wiebes has not been eliminated from contention.
Her top-10 finish on a climb like The Great Orme also says a lot about her current condition. She did not survive with the very best, but she fought strongly enough to remain a factor in the overall standings.
Lippert moves into second overall
Lippert’s second place was a strong reward for Movistar’s work across the stage.
The German was the closest rider to Le Court-Pienaar on the final climb, finishing 13 seconds down and moving to second overall at 26 seconds. She could not match the winning attack, but she was clearly one of the strongest riders on the final ascent.
Movistar’s plan was easy to understand: make the race hard enough before the finish to reduce Wiebes’ support, then give Lippert a chance to use the final climb. They did not win the stage, but they changed the GC and moved their leader into a strong position before the final day.
With Le Court-Pienaar now in yellow and Lippert second, the overall battle has shifted decisively away from a sprint-led race and towards the punchier riders.
Andersson and De Vries climb into contention
Andersson’s third place was one of the best rides of the day. The Liv AlUla Jayco rider finished 20 seconds behind Le Court-Pienaar and moved to fourth overall, level on time with Wiebes at 35 seconds.
De Vries also produced a strong finish, taking fourth on the stage and moving to fifth overall at 40 seconds. After Team Visma | Lease a Bike had lost Lieke Nooijen to a crash on stage 1, De Vries’ ride gives the team a genuine GC presence going into the final stage.
Ludwig’s fifth place lifted her to eighth overall at 42 seconds, while Dickson moved into ninth at 45 seconds. The climb did exactly what the race needed: it widened the GC field and pulled several riders into contention.
The final stage now has a much more complex shape than it would have had if Wiebes had survived in yellow.
UAE Team L’IMAD keep numbers high
UAE Team L’IMAD also kept riders in the top 10 overall, even if they did not win the stage.
Swinkels finished eighth on the stage at 28 seconds and sits sixth overall at 42 seconds. Gasparrini was ninth on the stage at 32 seconds and is now 10th overall at 51 seconds. Erica Magnaldi also finished just outside the top 10 on the stage, while the team had been visible in the work before the final climb.
It was not a day where UAE took control of the race, but it was another stage where their depth showed. Swinkels remains close enough overall to matter, and Gasparrini’s ride gives them another option high in the standings.
With the time gaps still relatively small behind Le Court-Pienaar, multiple teams still have reason to attack.
Le Court-Pienaar takes control of the race
Le Court-Pienaar now leads the Lloyds Tour of Britain Women with one stage remaining. Her advantage is 26 seconds over Lippert, 35 seconds over Wiebes and Andersson, and 40 seconds over De Vries.
That is a strong position, but not a completely safe one. The final stage still offers opportunities, and time bonuses could matter if the race becomes aggressive. Lippert, Wiebes, Andersson and De Vries all remain close enough to force AG Insurance-Soudal to defend properly.
The difference is that Le Court-Pienaar has shown she can win this race on the hardest finish. She took bonus seconds in Dolgarrog, attacked decisively on The Great Orme and finished alone.
After two days ruled by Wiebes, stage 3 turned the Tour of Britain Women upside down. The sprinter’s race has become Le Court-Pienaar’s race to defend.
Lloyds Tour of Britain Women 2026 stage 3 result
Data powered by FirstCycling.com
