Having already turned the GC battle on its head atop the Col de la Madeleine, Pauline Ferrand-Prévot left no doubts on the final day. The Visma-Lease a Bike rider attacked solo once again on stage 9 to Châtel, increasing her advantage and sealing the overall title in emphatic fashion.
The stage was expected to bring final confirmation of her control rather than reshape the standings, but the punishing trio of climbs and a tricky descent off the Joux Plane caused major shifts. Sarah Gigante, who had been second overall after stage 8, was dropped on the descent and isolated on the run-in to the Col du Corbier. With no teammates around and none of her main rivals willing to wait, she lost three and a half minutes by the finish line and slipped from second to sixth.
Photo Credit: A.S.O./Pauline BalletDemi Vollering was the main beneficiary. After launching an attack on the final climb that helped set up Ferrand-Prévot’s decisive move, she settled into a reduced chase group with Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney and Niamh Fisher-Black. Vollering crossed the line in second on the stage and leapfrogged Gigante to finish second overall, improving on her third place from 2024.
Last year’s winner Niewiadoma-Phinney claimed third in both the stage and GC, repeating her 2022 result. She had been aggressive all day, particularly on the descents, and was rewarded with another podium finish in a race she continues to thrive in.
Dominika Włodarczyk kept her upward momentum going with another consistent ride to take fourth overall. The UAE Team ADQ rider climbed with the best and finished just ahead of Fisher-Black in fifth, who impressed again on the final climbs and has shown huge progress this season in stage racing.
Juliette Labous played a key role in Vollering’s ride by doing the heavy lifting after Van der Breggen’s long breakaway was reeled in. She finished sixth on the stage and jumped up to seventh overall, helping FDJ-Suez secure the team classification along the way.
Photo Credit: A.S.O./Pauline BalletCédrine Kerbaol’s GC hopes unravelled after a crash at the foot of the Joux Plane. Distanced early and never fully recovering, she conceded over nine minutes and fell from fifth to eighth overall. She finished just ahead of Pauliena Rooijakkers, whose consistency brought her to ninth in the final standings, while Évita Muzic completed the top ten to place three FDJ-Suez riders inside the GC’s top tier.
Anna van der Breggen, who had ignited the stage with an attack from 93km out, briefly led solo over both the Côte d’Arâches-la-Frasse and the Col de Joux Plane. She was caught just before the final climb and eventually finished 11th overall, more than 19 minutes behind Ferrand-Prévot.
It capped a Tour where French riders not only won four stages, but also claimed the overall title and filled four of the final top ten GC spots. Ferrand-Prévot’s historic ride was a defining moment for the Tour de France Femmes, making her the first French winner of the race since its modern revival and the first rider to win Paris-Roubaix and the Tour in the same season since Bernard Hinault in 1981.
2025 Tour de France Femmes GC result
Results powered by FirstCycling.com
Main photo credit: A.S.O./Pauline Ballet
