In the end, there is only one winner. Around 150 athletes compete in the race. Victory is only possible thanks to the crucial support of teammates who sacrifice their own ambitions for a stronger champion. Yet the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift crowns only one rider in yellow: Annemiek van Vleuten in 2022, followed by Demi Vollering, Kasia Niewiadoma Phinney, and finally Pauline Ferrand-Prévot in the summer of 2025. Each of them knows how much they owe to their teammates, especially the loyal domestiques who accompany them deepest into the mountains. Before a new champion is crowned in Nice on Sunday, August 9, the official Tour website gives the floor to these exceptional second-in-command riders, who share their roles alongside “PFP”, Kasia, or Demi, while painting a different portrait of the contenders for the Yellow Jersey.
Marion Bunel: “Pushing My Limits Alongside My Idol Is a Privilege” (I/V)
At just 20 years old, Marion Bunel (Visma | Lease a Bike) earned her own place in cycling history last summer by helping her idol, Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, claim overall victory at the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift. The young climber was only 10 years old when the French star became a triple world champion in road cycling, cyclo-cross, and mountain biking. Their first meeting in 2015 was that of a devoted fan and an exceptional champion. A decade later, she experienced what she describes as an “unreal” moment when she launched Ferrand-Prévot toward glory on the slopes leading to the Col de la Madeleine during Stage 8 of the 2025 Tour. “She knew exactly how to guide me,” recalls Marion Bunel, who later finished third overall at La Vuelta Femenina by Carrefour.es with the invaluable support of “PFP.”
Fan Before Domestique: “She Was an Idol”
Born into a family of cycling enthusiasts and riding from a very young age herself, Marion Bunel grew up admiring Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, an exceptionally precocious and dominant star. In 2015, at just 22 years old, Ferrand-Prévot simultaneously held the rainbow jersey in road racing, cyclo-cross, and mountain biking. Young Marion, who also raced cyclo-cross herself (becoming U15 Normandy champion), could only look up to her hero at the age of 10.
“She was a champion I admired, even an idol. My older sister and I were just starting out in cycling, and everywhere we went in cycling school we heard Pauline’s name because she was a triple world champion.”
“It felt strange seeing in real life the champion I had only seen in magazine photos and winning races on television,” recalls Marion Bunel, who met her idol for the first time in 2015 at an event organized by the association Elles à Vélo. “It was an event in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines to promote women’s cycling. She was very kind and very warm.”
The young fan seized the opportunity to have photographs and even a rainbow jersey signed.“She really took the time to spend quality time with us.”
From Admiration to Friendship: “I Discovered Someone Very, Very Relaxed”
When Marion Bunel signed with Visma | Lease a Bike during the summer of 2024, she couldn’t imagine what awaited her alongside the rider she had admired throughout her childhood.
“I had absolutely no idea that Pauline was also going to join the team. Then I thought: ‘This is crazy, what’s happening right now!’ It made the dream I was already living even more intense. I was even more excited to start with the team because I knew I was going to meet her. It was very impressive for me and really added something special to my arrival at Visma | Lease a Bike.”
Before their first training camps in yellow and black, the two riders met in Switzerland while representing the French national team at the World Championships.“She was the one who came over to me,” Marion Bunel says with a smile. “She had seen my victory in the Tour de l’Avenir. It felt both wonderful and surreal to realize that she knew what I had done during the summer… We’re talking about Pauline Ferrand-Prévot!”
The young domestique quickly discovered another side of her childhood hero.“I discovered someone who is very, very relaxed and very pleasant. It was also fascinating to get to know the person behind the champion. We developed a great relationship from the very first training camps. With her, everything is simple and efficient. We do what we love, ride our bikes, and get along well.”
The foundations of a highly successful partnership had been laid. Their relationship would take on a whole new dimension during the summer of 2025.
Destination Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift: “For Three Weeks, We Climbed the Same Passes”
At the end of spring, Marion Bunel learned that she would compete in her first Tour. At 20 years old, she was even expected to play a major role in supporting “PFP” in the high mountains. “From that point on, I really switched into preparation mode,” she recalls. In this area, Ferrand-Prévot’s reputation is already well established: “There is a lot to learn from her ability to prepare for an event, it’s very inspiring,” admires Marion Bunel, who had a front-row seat before the 2025 Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift.
“We had a good training camp in Tignes,” says the young rider. “For three weeks, we climbed the same passes and did our training sessions together. I was sitting on her wheel and my goal was simply to try to survive for as long as possible. Sometimes we had efforts of six or eight minutes, and those minutes felt endless because the intensity was really very high.”
“These are truly unforgettable moments,” she continues. “Pushing myself beyond my limits on the wheel of my idol is still a privilege. There are also all the moments we shared during meals and throughout those three weeks in the mountains. It creates bonds and wonderful memories. When we came back from the training camp, we had dinner at my parents’ house. It’s something my family and I will never forget.”
Claiming the Yellow Jersey: “A Timeless Moment, Truly Unreal”
“During that training camp, we reconned the Madeleine together and imagined what might happen there during the race,” Marion Bunel also recalls. At the end of Stage 8, on the eve of the finish in Châtel, the formidable climb (18.6 km at 8.1%) was one of the major obstacles on the roads of the 2025 Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift. Ferrand-Prévot launched her decisive attack there, following a crucial pull by Marion Bunel, who had joined the early breakaway specifically to help her leader.
“At that moment, we reversed the situation I had experienced during training. She was on my wheel and I had to give everything, for as long as possible,” says Marion Bunel. “Once again, she guided me really well, with just a few effective words so that I could understand whether I was at the right intensity and to motivate me as well. The moment she sensed that I was starting to fade a little, she flew away to go and take the victory. It was a timeless moment when I switched into autopilot mode. I remember it almost as if it wasn’t even me on the bike. Because it truly felt unreal.”
“I’m very happy to have had those few minutes with her,” adds Marion Bunel. “Because before that, there had been a huge amount of suffering. I had crashed three times. After the third crash, I was thinking, ‘I’m not going to be able to do it.’ The Tour is so demanding, even when you are in top form, so with all that chaos, I was really starting to lose hope. But I promised myself that I would keep going. We had prepared so well for it, and I wanted at least to make it to the Madeleine.”
A Leader Who Also Knows How to Give Back: “She Is a Mentor”
“Pauline is a leader who is there for her teammates,” Marion Bunel sums up. “There is an objective, but she also takes care of us and makes sure that we are in the best possible conditions, that we feel good. She wants everyone to get along well and enjoy themselves. At the end of the day, it’s still cycling. So even with big goals, we reduce stress as much as possible and approach things very calmly. Then there is also a great deal of seriousness when it comes to achieving the objective. When it’s time to go for it, we go for it. And when we succeed, she also makes sure that we celebrate the success properly!”
The star PFP also knows how to put herself at the service of her teammates. This spring, she was seen sacrificing her own chances for Marianne Vos, who was deeply moved on the cobbles of Paris-Roubaix Femmes Hauts-de-France. She then helped Marion Bunel secure third place at La Vuelta Femenina.
“There was the same mindset: ‘We give our best and we enjoy ourselves,’” Marion Bunel explains. “And of course, in cycling, you have to adapt a lot. During the last two stages, I was really in very good form, and the terrain was also very, very steep, which suited my characteristics perfectly. So she supported me perfectly, giving me as much advice as possible.”
Her support was crucial, the young French rider insists.“It’s no small thing to have Pauline by your side in a moment like that. She is a mentor.”
