Pauline Ferrand-Prévot addresses Tour exit: 'My level was nowhere near good enough'

Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (Visma | Lease a Bike) has broken her silence following her exit from the Tour de France Femmes, confirming that illness forced her out of the race ahead of Stage 8. 

Twelve months after standing on the final podium in the yellow jersey, the French rider watched from home as Demi Vollering claimed the overall victory in Nice on Sunday.

Ferrand-Prévot addressed her departure in a social media update on Sunday evening, explaining the circumstances behind her decision to stop and assessing her overall performance.

The Visma | Lease a Bike leader did not take the start on Saturday morning after falling ill the previous night. The decision meant missing out on riding the final stages along roads where she regularly trains.

"I had to abandon the race because I became ill on Friday evening," Ferrand-Prévot stated. "It was a difficult decision, as I was really looking forward to riding on my training routes, but making choices is part of life and is rarely easy."

Prior to her illness, Ferrand-Prévot had struggled to replicate the form that saw her win the race 12 months earlier. Despite the disappointing outcome, she emphasised that she had no regrets regarding her effort.

"The preparation was very intensive, but my level during the race was nowhere near good enough to play a role," she said. "Hats off to everyone who set such a high level in the peloton. You all make me a better athlete, and I will come back stronger next year to try again."

"I am grateful for the support along the route, you cannot imagine what it means to me. But I have no regrets, because I gave my best every day."

Team manager Rutger Tijssen reflected on the team's race, acknowledging the disappointment of missing their primary target while praising the response of the rest of the squad.

"We came here with one big goal and unfortunately we couldn't achieve it," Tijssen said on the team's website. "That is very disappointing, but it is good to see other riders step up when the main goal is no longer achievable, showing clear progress."

Tijssen confirmed that the team will review their approach once Ferrand-Prévot has fully recovered.

"We are going to evaluate the Tour de France Femmes in the coming period once Pauline is fit again. We will look at what we did and what we could have done better, taking those lessons into the rest of the season and next year."