Team Visma | Lease a Bike will go into the 2025 Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift with clear intent: chase general classification success with Pauline Ferrand-Prévot and hunt early-stage wins with Marianne Vos.
Team manager Rutger Tijssen has made no secret of the team’s strategy. Ferrand-Prévot, who returned to road racing this year after focusing on mountain bike events, has been placed at the heart of their GC ambitions. “Pauline is completely ready physically and mentally,” Tijssen explained. “We deliberately kept her out of competition to focus on training. We’ll find out on 3rd August if that was the right decision.”
This will be Ferrand-Prévot’s debut appearance at the Tour de France Femmes. After abandoning the Vuelta due to injury earlier in the season, she has spent the last two months training at altitude in Tignes. “It was a great period,” she said. “We supported each other and brought out the best in each other. This Tour is part of a long-term plan for me. It’s about discovering the demands of a race like this and continuing to grow.”
Marion Bunel is expected to play a key support role in the mountains. The 20-year-old French rider, already in her second Grand Tour of the year, said she was excited to race in front of home fans. “I know many people will be cheering, and that motivates me. My job is to protect Pauline in the early stages, then help her as much as I can in the climbs.”
The Tour’s nine-stage route finishes with a brutal pair of mountain stages, including summit finishes on the Col de la Madeleine and Col de Joux Plane. “The GC will likely be decided there,” Tijssen added.
While the final weekend is built for Ferrand-Prévot, the opening stages offer opportunity for Vos. After stepping out of the Giro d’Italia Women as a precaution, she’s now back and in form. “The first two hilly stages should suit Marianne well,” Tijssen said. “They’re a little shorter than ideal, but we’re still going to go all in.”
The Dutch squad has built a balanced roster, with climbers, puncheurs and a proven finisher. Visma is clearly aiming high, but with a measured, dual-leader strategy.
Team Visma | Lease a Bike 2025 Tour de France Femmes line-up
- Pauline Ferrand-Prévot
- Marianne Vos
- Marion Bunel
- Lieke Nooijen
- Eva van Agt
- Imogen Wolff
- Femke de Vries
