Just before this year's women's Tour de France, Kimberley Le Court Pienaar was simply another young woman who could blend into the background on the streets of the Mauritian capital Port Louis.
"We were just there waiting to go and see the sports minister and she was having a kickabout with a football and eating a snack," said Mauritius Cycling Federation boss Michel Mayer who was with the 29-year-old cyclist for meetings with sponsors and the country's top politicians.
"This is Kim," Mayer added. "This is the nature of Kim. She is a straightforward girl. She won't be able to hang around and do that now."
In the month since her visit to her homeland, Le Court Pienaar has become a national treasure for her performances in the 2025 women's Tour de France.
Following the second stage of the race on 27 July, she became the first African woman to sport the yellow jersey of the overall race leader.
She lost the honour the next day to the Dutch rider Marianne Vos who held onto the vest until Wednesday's 168.km run between between Chasseneuil-du-Poitou Futuroscope and Guéret in central France.
Le Court Pienaar completed that course in three hours, 54 minutes and seven seconds to become the first African to claim a stage win at one of the circuit's most prestigious events.
She also regained the yellow vest.
"People who don't have TV sets have gone into the shops to buy one so that they can watch the Tour de France and see a girl from Mauritius at the top of the world," said Mayer who has known Le Court Pienaar since she was 12.
'National event'
"It has become a national event and there's been a feel-good factor on the island," Mayer added.
"All the politicians want to take advantage of it. The cycling federation wants to take the credit, of course, and even the diaspora in France have been going from town to town to see Kim wearing this yellow jersey."
At the end of the sixth stage between Clermont-Ferrand and Ambert, a somewhat surprised Le Court Pienaar hailed the support.
"I've seen so many Mauritian flags and my name written on the floor and also people scraming my name," she said.
"This has never happened in the past for me. I never really thought that people supported me like this and I realised that I have supporters out there who like seeing me perform and seeing me achieve.
"So that really makes me happy and I hope I can keep on making the supporters happy."
Le Court Pienaar regains lead of women's Tour de France after winning stage 5
Le Court Pienaar held on to the yellow vest until the end of the penultimate stage. France's Pauline Ferrand-Prévot pulverized the field to claim her first stage win at the Tour de France and also seize the overall lead.
Le Court Pienaar, who crashed 68km into the run between Chambéry Saint-François Longchamp and Col de la Madeleine in south-eastern France, finished nine minutes behind Ferrand-Prévot in 17th and fell to 11th overall.
The ninth and final stage on Sunday between Praz-sur-Arly and Châtel failed to bring any redemption. Le Court Pienaar crossed the line 49th out of the 124 riders and ended the trek over 1,168.6km in 16th place overall.
But there will be celebrations, Mayer assured, for her three days in the yellow vest and the stage win. They will be put on hold though while Le Court Pienaar prepares for the world cycling championships in Kigali between 21 and 28 September.
"I've received messages from all the presidents in the African Cycling Confederation," beamed Mayer. "They are extremely happy because her ride has been a pride for the for the continent, not only for the island.
"When Kim comes to Mauritius, there will definitely be a big ceremony for her," Mayer added. "They'll probably put up a statue!"
The quip comes not only from burning pride as cycling federation chief but also from the quasi paternal glow of seeing a girl that Mayer and his son, Alex, used to race against.
'Signs of a top rider'
"I think Kim was 12 and Alex was 11 and I was struggling to keep up with both of them," Mayer said. "Both of them are now professional cyclists. I could see the signs in both of them but for Kim definitely more.
"At the time the federation was organising a race every Sunday and she was competing against all the boys and she was winning the races on the sprint. She was a very good sprinter even at the age of 13 or 14 ... and we've seen that during the tour. Back then, wWe could see a bright future for her."
Le Court Pienaar got a taste of international competition representing Mauritius at the 2013 mountain bike world championships in South Africa.
The following year she took part in the Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing and the 2014 African mountain bike championships in Cape Town where she won a bronze medal in the junior cross-country event behind the south Aficans Bianca Haw and Frances Du Toit.
But despite a cycling culture centring around the Tour of Mauritius, the island of nearly 2 million people offered too few facilities for development.
Le Court Pïennar moved abroad competing for the British team Matrix Fitness and then the Spanish outfit Bizkaia-Durango in road races in Europe?
But her best results came in road and mountain bike racing in Mauritius and in African Championships.
Since signing for the Belgium-based AG Insurance - Soudal Team, success has come in Europe. She won a stage at the 2024 Giro d'Italia and in April claimed the coveted Liège-Bastogne-Liège women's race.
The feats, though, during the 2025 tour have propelled her into another stratosphere.
Dutch cyclist Wiebes wins stage 3 of women's Tour de France
And the success is likely to keep the home federation executives on their toes us. "She's always been one step ahead," said Mayer. "One step ahead of her competitors and one step ahead of us. She's pushing us.
"Obviously, if you want to be a champion, you need to be different. I think she has the right attitude. You know where we are in Mauritius, we're living in a comfort zone but it's up us to be able to adapt and not for her to adapt to us."
