Mauritian rider Kim Le Court overcame an early fall and mechanical problems on Thursday to win a sprint finish for stage 6 of the Tour de France Femmes as Swiss rival Marlen Reusser retained the leader's yellow jersey.

Le Court, 30, was part of an eight-rider breakaway group but pipped her rivals to finish ahead of France's Cédrine Kerbaol and the Netherlands' Puck Pieterse after the hilly 153-kilometer run from Montbrison to Tournon-sur-Rhône in southeastern France.

Kim Le Court Overcomes Crash And Mechanical Trouble

Reusser, 34, remains in overall control on the eve of the queen stage, which finishes on the summit of Mont Ventoux in the French Alps on Friday.

For the Mauritian champion, it was a second stage victory in the Grande Boucle following her win last year in Guéret.

Le Court earned her victory. After crashing early in the stage, she suffered mechanical issues that forced her to change bikes just 15 kilometers from the finish line.

Alongside Dutch rider Riejanne Markus, she caught up to the six other breakaway riders shortly before the day's final climb 10 kilometers from Tournon-sur-Rhône, before then proving too strong in the sprint.

"It was a truly crazy stage. The team did such a great job positioning me at the front of the race that I couldn't give up the fight," the winner explained.

Marlen Reusser Retains Tour de France Femmes Lead

The overall race favorites finished in a chasing group 28 seconds behind the breakaway.

Reusser maintained a 12-second advantage in the general classification on Dutch rider Demi Vollering and a 1 minute 17 second gap over Poland's Kasia Niewiadoma.

Friday's stage 7 concludes at the summit of the legendary Mont Ventoux via the Bédoin climb over 15.7 kilometers at a gradient of 8.8 percent.