Fabulous Ferrand-Prévot wins Tour de France Femmes after soloing to stage 9 victory
Ferrand-Prévot stated at the end of stage 8 that the reason she came back to road racing was because of the Tour, and the French rider created history as her epic comeback to the peloton has proven to be the ultimate success after sealing the general classification at the Tour de France Femmes on Sunday with a second stage win.
Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (Visma | Lease a Bike) sealed the general classification on stage 9 to become the winner of the 2025 Tour de France Femmes after winning solo in the yellow jersey in Châtel.
On the final stage to Châtel, the yellow jersey never looked in doubt as Ferrand-Prévot was able to follow all the important moves on what proved to be an attritional stage. Then, with 6.5km to go, Ferrand-Prévot landed the decisive blow, with a powerful acceleration which nobody could respond to.
In the end, the yellow jersey finished the stage 20 seconds ahead of Demi Vollering (FDJ-Suez) in 2nd, and Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney (Canyon//SRAM zondacrypto) in 3rd.
The GC victory and two stage wins mark a majorly successful return to road racing for Ferrand-Prévot, who adds the yellow jersey to the cobblestone she picked up as winner of Paris-Roubaix Femmes avec Zwift back in April.
It means that Ferrand-Prévot becomes the first French rider to win the Tour since Jeannie Longo in 1989 during the previous iteration of the race. Ferrand-Prévot also becomes the last Bernard Hinault in winning the Tour as well as Paris-Roubaix in the same year, something the Badger achieved in 1981.
Sarah Gigante (AG Insurance-Soudal) fought valiantly to try and return to the yellow jersey group having been distanced on the descent of the Col de Joux Plane, but was unable to do so and ceded her 2nd place in the GC to Vollering who finished 3:42 behind Ferrand-Prévot, whilst Niewiadoma-Phinney moved up to 3rd in the final general classification standings at 4:09.
How it unfolded
Immediately after the flag drop, Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime), wearing the green jersey, made the first move.
SD Worx-Protime remained highly active as a trio of riders, Femke Gerritse, Lotte Kopecky, and Anna van der Breggen broke clear of the peloton, joined by cyclocross star Lucinda Brand (SD Worx-Protime).
Meanwhile, Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (Visma | Lease a Bike) was caught in a split, alongside her closest general classification rival, Sarah Gigante (AG Insurance-Soudal), trailing the main bunch by about 25 seconds. With teamwork, the yellow jersey group rejoined the peloton before the first categorised climb, the Côte d’Arâches-la-Frasse, while the SD Worx-Protime trio and Brand were also reabsorbed.
Undeterred, Van der Breggen attacked again on the lower slopes of the climb, joined by former teammate Niamh Fisher-Black (Lidl-Trek). The duo was soon caught by the yellow jersey group, now reduced to fewer than 20 riders.
Van der Breggen persisted, launching another attack with 94km remaining, this time creating a significant gap. The FDJ-Suez team began pacing at the front of the yellow jersey group, which swelled slightly in numbers.
At the intermediate sprint, Wiebes, now back in the yellow jersey group, took second place behind her teammate Van der Breggen, the lone leader.
On the approach to the hors catégorie Col de Joux Plane, a crash in the yellow jersey group involved Cédrine Kerbaol and Naomi Ruegg (EF Education-Oatly) and Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon//SRAM Zondacrypto), but the Polish champion rejoined the group.
With 8.5km left on the climb, Gigante accelerated, thinning the group, and attacked again with 4.5km to go. Ferrand-Prévot, Demi Vollering (SD Worx-Protime), Niewiadoma, and Fisher-Black followed, while Van der Breggen maintained a 1:30 lead.
Juliette Labous (FDJ-Suez) and Dominika Wlodarczyk (UAE Team ADQ) later rejoined the yellow jersey group as the pace eased. Wlodarczyk attacked shortly after but was chased down by Niewiadoma.
Vollering attacked just under 1km from the summit but couldn’t break clear, with only Wlodarczyk and Labous briefly distanced.
Van der Breggen crested the Joux Plane with a 50-second lead, as Vollering attacked again through the summit. A lack of cooperation in the yellow jersey group allowed Labous to rejoin and attack over the top as the descent began.
On the descent, Gigante was distanced but briefly rejoined on a steep kicker, only to lose contact again on the twisty sections.
Entering Morzine, Van der Breggen’s lead shrank to 40 seconds. With Gigante over two minutes behind, the yellow jersey group’s pace remained high, driven by Vollering and Niewiadoma, who were poised to climb in the GC standings. This tempo saw Van der Breggen caught and distanced on the lower slopes of the final climb, the Col du Corbier.
No significant attacks occurred on the climb, but Niewiadoma and Vollering pushed the pace on the descent, briefly distancing Wlodarczyk and Labous. With 15km to go, Gigante trailed by over three minutes.
Vollering launched a fierce attack with 7km remaining, but all except her teammate Labous followed. Then, Ferrand-Prévot surprised the group with a decisive attack at 6.5km, which no one could match.
Ferrand-Prévot delivered a masterclass, securing the Tour de France Femmes title and her second stage win with time to savour her triumph. Behind, Vollering sprinted to second on the stage, followed by Niewiadoma in third and Fisher-Black in fourth.
