Pauline Ferrand-Prévot ended the fourth edition of the Tour de France Femmes in style. A day after her solo win on the Col de la Madeleine, the 33-year-old Frenchwoman took victory in the final stage and secured the overall victory. Ferrand-Prévot also gave Team Visma | Lease a Bike Women its first overall victory in a Grand Tour.
Ferrand-Prévot returned to the road this season with the goal of competing for the overall victory in the Tour de France Femmes within three years. After a successful spring, in which she won Paris-Roubaix, she resumed her training and went on several altitude training camps to be in the best possible shape for her Tour debut.
In the first stage to Plumelec, Ferrand-Prévot immediately showed that she was more than ready. Although she just missed out on the stage victory (she finished third), she saw her teammate Marianne Vos take the stage and the yellow jersey. In the days that followed, her teammates ensured that she stayed out of trouble and did not lose any unnecessary time.
In the penultimate stage, which finished atop of the Col de la Madeleine, Ferrand-Prévot demonstrated her dominance by leaving all her competitors behind and securing the yellow jersey. The reigning Olympic mountain bike champion did it again the next day, soloing to her second stage win in Châtel. She made history by becoming the first French woman to win the Tour de France Femmes and giving Team Visma | Lease a Bike Women their first victory in a Grand Tour.
“I am so incredibly happy”, she said in a first reaction. “Yesterday was obviously a great day, but I knew I had to stay focused. However, the stage did not start as I had imagined. On the descent, I was a little too far behind, so I ended up in a second peloton. I asked my teammates if they would wait for me, and they did a great job of closing the gap. I am extremely grateful to each and every one of them,” said Ferrand-Prévot.
The Frenchwoman indicates that she did not intend to just follow today. “This morning, I told my sports directors that I would like to win in the yellow jersey. When the opportunity arose, I thought: why not? I attacked and immediately opened up a gap. The last five kilometres were very painful, but fortunately I was able to hold on until the finish. Finishing my first Tour de France with a stage win in the yellow jersey is the best feeling ever.”
Team manager Richard Plugge considers Ferrand-Prévot’s victory a team effort. “The plan was to be on the podium after nine days, but to be on the top is absolutely fantastic. We knew Pauline had the ability to go for a top result, but you still have to do it. You need to be tough to climb the Col de la Madeleine as fast as she did yesterday. The team worked extremely well, and it just goes to show: you can’t win without a team.”
GC
- Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (Team Visma | Lease a Bike), en 29h54’24”
- Demi Vollering (FDJ-Suez), +3’42”
- Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney (Canyon//SRAM zondacrypto), +4’09”
