The Olympic mountain bike gold medallist Pauline-Ferrand Prévot took a commanding overall lead in the Tour de France Femmes after an extraordinary solo victory at the summit of the Col de la Madeleine.

The 33-year-old from Reims crushed the hopes of the defending champion Kasia Niewiadoma and 2023 winner Demi Vollering on the steep, narrow road to the 2,000m mountain top, in the Haute Savoie region.

The pivotal moment came 12 kilometres from the top of the Madeleine when the Australian climber Sarah Gigante pulled clear of the favourites, with Pauliena Rooijakkers and Ferrand-Prévot in pursuit.

But the French rider benefited from her Visma-Lease-a-bike team’s tactics, of having Marion Bunol in the