Pauline Ferrand-Prévot will discover, this Saturday, the Tour de France women 2025. With the ambition to learn before hoping to win it in the next two seasons.
Obsession with the dream of a little girl. Pauline Ferrand-Prévot will be one of the attractions-if not the main attraction-of this Women’s Tour de France with Zwift 2025. A year ago, almost today, the Frenchwoman won, finally, the Olympic gold medal on the Cross-Country mountain bike test. A consecration for the Habs after its failures during the 2012 London Games, Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 (played in 2021).
The objective of winning the Tour de France women within three years
In the process, she announced, to everyone’s surprise, to want to reconnect with road cycling. Not without ambition – as usual: “Female cycling (on the road) has made a long way since I left it … With the support of my team, I am sure I can do great things, and I am very motivated. I want to win the Tour de France women ”, She swapped in an official press release after the formalization of her return to Visma | Lease A Bike (ex-Robobank).
Read too
Cycling: Olympic mountain biking champion Pauline Ferrand-Prévot wins Paris-Roubaix Freminine from her first participation
Pass advertising
A new objective difficult to achieve for a runner who had not had a season on bitumen since 2018 … An eternity in the ecosystem of female cycling, he who has evolved enormously in recent years, with among others the creation of a (real) large female loop. More concretely, the multiple world champion gives herself three years – the duration of her contract with the Dutch training – to win the greatest race on the calendar.
A prestige victory in Paris-Roubaix but …
His start to the 2025 season exceeded expectations: an astonishing third place on the Strade Bianche gives a fourth place on Milan-San Remo-before being downgraded to twelfth position-, a second place on the Tour of Flanders and a legendary victory in Paris-Roubaix. As soon as she returned to the road competition, “PFP” proved that she was still one of the best runners in the world and that her goal of registering her name in the winner of the Tour de France women was not too ambitious.
Read too
Cycling: “Not enough to continue”, Pauline Ferrand-Prévot leaves her Vuelta after four stages
But while it was then hoped to see her illustrate on the classics of Ardennes, then on the races in difficult stages, the French – diminished by a small disease and falls – did not manage to distinguish herself. And even showed some signs of weakness on slightly longer ascents. To overcome this form problem and prepare for this summer, the native of Reims decided to abandon the Tour of Spain after the fourth stage. A difficult choice … but which allowed him to recharge his batteries.
A nice end of preparation
«During the Vuelta, the decision was made to rest. When you only train, the body never heals [elle a subi une blessure à une cheville, ndlr]. I had enough time to take this break and then prepare myself. The tour is the main goal of my season. I wanted to be 100% ready and we are there. I feel good, happy to be there, finally!“, She recently said at a press conference.
During its preparation, La Franc-Comtoise worked at altitude and recognized the rise of the Madeleine pass, justice of the test of the test (8e stage). She also took the opportunity to lighten somewhat in anticipation of the long climbs planned in the second part of the Grande Boucle. “”I am lighter than to the classics where you have to climb for two or three minutes. When I have a goal, I like to have the ideal weight when you need. I don’t like being too thin for nothing, it’s not healthy“She told journalists.
Read too
Tour de France: the man tackled on the finish line in Valence sentenced to suspended prison
Pass advertising
So much effort that should allow him to play the leading roles. Will they be enough to achieve your goal this year? Not necessarily. Especially since the competition will be strong: Katarzyna Niewiadoma, Demi Vollering, Anna van der Breggen or Marlen Reusser and Elisa Longo Borghini. But whatever. What matters is to try: “The Tour de France is no longer a little girl’s dream, it is not necessarily an obsession. It’s more something I want to conquer, that I want to go get. If I get there it’s great, but if I can’t do it, it’s not the end of the world, unlike the games that were the goal of my life. ” Will his dream come true?
