Tourer
Pauline Ferrand-Prévot Could create what French cycling has been waiting for forty years: to win the tour. She laid the foundation for this on Col de la Madeleine. But wherever is cheers, there are also tears.
Massive traffic jam and demanding serpentines – the journey by car high to the Col de la Madeleine is anything but fun. But you shouldn’t complain, because it would not have been better with the drivers on their racing bike. On the contrary: almost 18 kilometers with an average climb of eight percent, the way up to the roof of this year Tour de France Femmes Was steep and hard. But at least there was imperial weather at almost 2,000 meters after the drivers in Chambéry had to start the race in pouring rain.
A driver, however, made the whole thing look child’s play. Pauline Ferrand-Prévot put on a ride of hell over the last few kilometers and thus not only secured the day’s victory in front of countless fans on the route, but also the yellow jersey for the first time. She is now a lead over her worst pursuers more than two and a half minutes – a historical preliminary decision in the fight for the tour victory, because Ferrand -Prévot is the first French woman to do that Maillot Jaune in the history of the France tour.
Ferrand-Prévot overwhelmed by emotions
What followed was a long and firm hug with race director Marion Roussea long-time companion Ferrand-Prévots. At the latest then the tears flowed from the Visma Lease-A-Bike driver, who did not really know at the award ceremony whether she should laugh or cry. It was only this year that the mountain bike Olympic champion returned to the street from 2024. And that with the full -bodied announcement of wanting to win the Tour de France Femmes within three years. That seems to have been succeeded now.
“A childhood dream came true”said Ferrand-Prévot visibly moved at the finish: “I had given myself three years to win the tour. And actually it was more of a challenge to ask yourself: Can you do that? Et voilà!” The past two months have been full of hard work, the 33-year-old continues: “I am so happy that it all paid off to be the best today.”
The perfect race plan for yellow
Many had actually expected that Ferrand-Prévot, who had already acted as a top favorite in advance, but had been traveling to Sprinter Marianne Vos for a long time, would already go into the yellow jersey on the seventh stage. But Kimberley Le Court-Pienaar showed tougher on the mountain when some would have believed it. Today the woman from Mauritius had nothing to oppose the Col de la Madeleine. Unlike Ferrand-Prévot, who had geared the whole tour to the queen stage. The French woman visited today’s final increase twice, wanted to memorize every turn – as is common in mountain biking.
The meticulousness paid off. Around ten kilometers before the finish line, Ferrand-Prevot put on her attack and first concluded with the outliers Yara Kastelijn and Niamh Fisher-Black and then managed the last five kilometers as a soloist. Until then, she had a helper from her own team with Marion Brunel. “The girls worked well for me all day. We had a race plan that we implemented perfectly. That’s why I’m so happy because it is a victory for the team”she said.
Defeat for full ring and Niewiadoma phinney
After the stage, Demi full ring and Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney will experience a completely different emotional world. Before this stage, the two were on the daily victory and the yellow jersey. But ten kilometers before the finish, when Ferrand-Prévot started her attack, it quickly became clear: Niewiadoma-Phinney and full ring cannot go along. In the end, Volling saved herself as a fourth to the finish, the French is now 3:18 minutes, in second place, which the Australian Sara conquered Gigante, less than a minute.
Sportschau Tourfunk, 02.08.2025 7:31 pm
Both full ring and last year’s winner Niewiadoma-Phinney, who disappeared into the team bus without comment after the arrival, had to go without helpers in the last climb of the day. Especially at FDJ-Suez, this should cause discussions, Elise Chabbey, owner of the mountain jerseys, and Evitá Muzic, drove in the outlier group for a long time, which in the end could no longer align anything for full ring. Another top favorite, who was still in direct striking distance to the yellow jersey before today’s stage, also had to take a strong defeat today. Anna van der Breggen (SD Worx) lost more than eight minutes.
Ferrand-Prévot lets French dream dream
Even if the eighth stage brought something like a preliminary decision, Ferrand-Prévot must first bring your lead to the finish. The ninth and last stage of Praz-sur-arly after Chat A demanding mountain stage that could be done well at that time. But the French woman also fed this out in advance: “I still have to stay vigilant. But I felt great today. That’s why I see no reason why I should feel less good tomorrow.”
Marion Rousse also hopes that, who should remain neutral as a race director, but is also a French woman. “I know how important the yellow jersey is for France. Right when it wears a champion like Pauline Ferrand-Prévot”enthuses the former professional cyclist: “She is the most beautiful role model for little girls and boys. I knew that she would make us dream. And we didn’t deceive ourselves, she lets us dream in the first year.” Forty years ago, a Frenchman was able to win the men’s Tour de France for the last time. Ferrand-Prévots persecutors, however, should do everything possible to make this dream become a nightmare.