She gave herself three years. Three years to master the road, understand its rhythms and maybe, one day, aim for overall victory. But Pauline Ferrand-Prévot has never likes waiting. Just one year after her Olympic triumph in cross-country mountain biking at the Paris 2024 Games, the Frenchwoman won the Tour de France Femmes on Sunday, August 3, on her very first attempt. For her, it seemed as if challenges lost all resistance the moment she identified them; thus, the Visma-Lease a Bike leader seized the last trophy missing from her colossal list of achievements.
At 33, Ferrand-Prévot has conquered the most prestigious race in her sport with the same unflinching command she displayed on the trails of Élancourt during the Olympic Games. To cap it off, she took a second consecutive solo stage victory on Sunday in Châtel, near the Swiss border. “I dreamed of winning in yellow,” she said, the day after her spectacular ride on the slopes of the Col de la Madeleine. Ferrand-Prévot is now moving forward with the quiet strength of those who know exactly what they are after.
It took her four Olympics to win the gold medal in Paris, after years of frustrated hopes, silences and injuries. She won “the greatest title of her career” through sheer persistence. The Tour, on the other hand, seemed to fall into her lap like ripe fruit, plucked with a single swoop. In just a few months, Ferrand-Prévot has reversed the usual logic of cycling; what long stood in her way, ultimately gave in. But one thing has never changed: her unwavering determination.
You have 79.22% of this article left to read. The rest is for subscribers only.
