Pauline Ferrand-Prévot won the 2025 Tour de France Femmes, completing a remarkable return to road racing by dominating the final two mountain stages.
The French rider, racing for Team Visma | Lease a Bike, took control of the general classification on the Col de la Madeleine during Stage 8 before winning again on the final stage into Châtel.
Ferrand-Prévot finished the nine-stage race 3 minutes and 42 seconds ahead of Demi Vollering, with defending champion Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney third at 4:09.
Her victory made her the first French winner of the modern Tour de France Femmes and delivered one of the most significant home successes in recent French cycling history.
Tour de France Femmes 2025 winner at a glance
- Winner: Pauline Ferrand-Prévot
- Team: Team Visma | Lease a Bike
- Nationality: French
- Final winning time: 29 hours, 54 minutes and 24 seconds
- Winning margin: 3 minutes and 42 seconds
- Second place: Demi Vollering
- Third place: Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney
- Stage wins: Two
- Decisive stages: Stage 8 to the Col de la Madeleine and Stage 9 to Châtel
- Race dates: 26 July to 3 August 2025
Ferrand-Prévot did not gradually build a small lead through time bonuses or minor splits. She won the race through two emphatic performances in the Alps.
The victory made her the fourth different champion in four editions of the modern race. The full sequence is covered in our Tour de France Femmes history guide.
Who is Pauline Ferrand-Prévot?
Pauline Ferrand-Prévot is one of the most versatile cyclists of her generation.
Before winning the Tour de France Femmes, she had already become a world champion across road cycling, cyclo-cross, mountain biking and gravel. She also won the Olympic cross-country mountain bike title at the Paris Games in 2024.
Her career had increasingly focused on mountain biking before she returned to full-time road racing with Visma | Lease a Bike for the 2025 season.
The Tour was a major reason for that return.
Ferrand-Prévot initially presented the project as a longer-term ambition. Before the race, she spoke about learning how to compete across a nine-day stage race and suggested she had given herself several seasons to target overall victory.
She instead won at her first attempt.
Earlier in 2025, Ferrand-Prévot had already shown that her road form was considerably better than a gradual rebuilding programme might suggest. She won Paris-Roubaix Femmes in April, demonstrating that she could still compete with the best riders in the world across a completely different type of terrain.
Her return to the road and position as a genuine Tour contender were examined before the race in our Pauline Ferrand-Prévot 2025 Tour de France Femmes profile.
How did Ferrand-Prévot win the 2025 Tour de France Femmes?
Ferrand-Prévot remained close to the leading general classification riders during the opening seven stages without taking unnecessary risks.
The early race was shaped by sprinters, puncheurs and several different yellow jersey holders. Marianne Vos won the opening stage, while Kim Le Court-Pienaar and Demi Vollering were among the riders competing around the top of the classification.
Ferrand-Prévot’s strategy was based on patience.
Visma protected her through the flatter and more technical stages, allowing her to reach the decisive Alpine weekend without having spent excessive energy chasing small gains.
The entire race then changed on Stage 8.
The Col de la Madeleine decided the Tour
Stage 8 finished at Saint-François-Longchamp after the hors catégorie Col de la Madeleine.
The final climb was 18.6km at an average gradient of 8.1%, making it the most important sustained climbing test of the race.
Ferrand-Prévot attacked with approximately seven kilometres remaining.
Sarah Gigante had emerged as one of the strongest riders on the climb, while Niamh Fisher-Black and the established favourites were also attempting to remain in contention. Ferrand-Prévot gradually moved clear and then turned the stage into a demonstration of sustained climbing strength.
She won by 1:46 from Gigante, with Fisher-Black third.
The victory moved Ferrand-Prévot into the yellow jersey with one stage remaining.
It was not simply a case of winning by a few seconds at the summit. Her advantage meant the race had been fundamentally reordered.
Gigante moved into second overall, while Vollering began the final day more than three minutes behind. The Tour was not mathematically over, but Ferrand-Prévot had placed herself in a commanding position.
The full story of the decisive attack is covered in our Stage 8 report from the Col de la Madeleine.
Why the Madeleine performance was so impressive
Ferrand-Prévot’s Stage 8 victory stood out because of how directly it was achieved.
There was no tactical stalemate, downhill finish or late sprint between a reduced group. The strongest riders were together on the final mountain and Ferrand-Prévot rode away from all of them.
The Col de la Madeleine rewarded sustained power, careful pacing and resistance to fatigue after eight days of racing.
Those were areas where there had been uncertainty before the Tour.
Ferrand-Prévot’s mountain bike background gave her exceptional short-duration power, technical ability and climbing strength, but the Tour required her to reproduce that performance after more than a week of road racing.
She answered that question decisively.
The win was also the third consecutive French stage victory after Maëva Squiban had won Stages 6 and 7.
Ferrand-Prévot attacked again on the final stage
Ferrand-Prévot could have ridden defensively on Stage 9.
She began the final day with a large advantage and could reasonably have followed Vollering, Gigante and Niewiadoma-Phinney through the major climbs before protecting yellow into Châtel.
Instead, she attacked again.
The 124.1km final stage included the Côte d’Arâches-la-Frasse, Col de Joux Plane and Col du Corbier before the uphill finish in Châtel.
Ferrand-Prévot left the remaining favourites behind with 6.7km to go and won the stage by 20 seconds from Vollering.
The second consecutive victory removed any suggestion that her Madeleine performance had been an isolated exceptional day.
She had been the strongest rider on both decisive mountain stages.
Her final-day ride and overall victory are detailed in our final GC standings from the 2025 Tour de France Femmes.
Photo Credit: A.S.O./Pauline BalletWhat was the final 2025 Tour de France Femmes podium?
The final podium was:
| Position | Rider | Team | Time or gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pauline Ferrand-Prévot | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | 29h 54m 24s |
| 2 | Demi Vollering | FDJ-Suez | +3m 42s |
| 3 | Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney | Canyon//SRAM zondacrypto | +4m 09s |
Vollering moved into second overall on the final stage after finishing behind Ferrand-Prévot in Châtel.
Niewiadoma-Phinney, who had won the 2024 Tour by only four seconds, completed the podium but was unable to match Ferrand-Prévot on the longest climbs.
The size of the winning margin was notable. Recent editions had produced much closer races, particularly Niewiadoma-Phinney’s narrow victory over Vollering in 2024.
Ferrand-Prévot instead won by more than three and a half minutes.
Was Ferrand-Prévot expected to win?
She was considered a serious contender, but not necessarily the safest pre-race favourite.
Vollering entered with proven Tour-winning experience, having won the race in 2023. Niewiadoma-Phinney was the defending champion, while riders such as Gigante, Fisher-Black and Le Court-Pienaar offered alternative threats.
Ferrand-Prévot’s ability was never in doubt.
The uncertainty surrounded her return to stage racing.
She had spent several seasons concentrating on mountain biking and had not recently completed a race carrying the same cumulative demands as the Tour de France Femmes.
There were also questions about whether she could remain protected through the faster opening stages before reaching the mountains.
Visma managed both issues successfully. Ferrand-Prévot avoided major time losses, while her teammates ensured she began the decisive weekend in a strong position.
Her eventual margin made the victory look inevitable in retrospect, but it was not treated that way before the race.
The team’s dual plan to support Ferrand-Prévot for the general classification and Marianne Vos for early stage victories was outlined in our Visma Tour de France Femmes team guide.
Why was the victory historic for France?
Ferrand-Prévot became the first French rider to win the modern Tour de France Femmes, which was launched in its current form in 2022.
It was also the first French overall victory in the leading women’s Tour since Jeannie Longo won the Tour de France Féminin in 1989.
The result carried significance beyond the women’s peloton.
France had waited decades for a home rider to win the country’s most important cycling race in either its leading men’s or women’s form.
Ferrand-Prévot achieved it while already one of the most recognisable French cyclists because of her Olympic and world championship success.
The fact that she won through two attacking mountain performances made the result even more powerful for the home audience.
Her victory became the emotional centre of a record-breaking edition, as explored in our review of the impact of the 2025 Tour de France Femmes.
Did Ferrand-Prévot win any other classifications?
Ferrand-Prévot won the yellow jersey as the overall race winner.
The other main classifications went to different riders:
- Points classification: Lorena Wiebes
- Mountains classification: Elise Chabbey
- Young rider classification: Nienke Vinke
- Team classification: FDJ-Suez
- Combativity award: Maëva Squiban
Ferrand-Prévot’s focus was clear. She built her race around winning the general classification rather than accumulating points across several competitions.
Who won stages at the 2025 Tour de France Femmes?
The 2025 race produced a varied group of winners.
Marianne Vos won the opening stage, while Lorena Wiebes took sprint victories. Mavi García and Kim Le Court-Pienaar also won stages before Maëva Squiban claimed consecutive solo victories on Stages 6 and 7.
Ferrand-Prévot then won the final two stages.
That pattern made the race feel open for most of the week. Several teams had reasons to control the race, but no single GC rider had established a decisive advantage before the Alps.
Ferrand-Prévot’s domination therefore arrived late but changed the overall picture completely.
Was 2025 Ferrand-Prévot’s first Tour de France Femmes?
Yes. The 2025 edition was Ferrand-Prévot’s first appearance at the modern Tour de France Femmes.
She won the race on debut.
That added another layer to the result because she had not spent previous editions learning the race’s demands or gradually improving her position.
She returned to the road, won Paris-Roubaix Femmes and then claimed the Tour within the same season.
Her success also demonstrated that transferring from mountain biking back to road racing did not need to involve a lengthy adaptation period for a rider with her level of experience.
Which team did Ferrand-Prévot ride for?
Ferrand-Prévot won with Team Visma | Lease a Bike.
Her team played an important role before the decisive mountain stages by protecting her position and conserving her energy.
Marion Bunel was particularly valuable during the Col de la Madeleine stage, helping Ferrand-Prévot deep into the finale before the eventual winning attack.
Visma’s tactics contrasted with teams that attempted to gain time through repeated smaller moves.
The plan was to keep Ferrand-Prévot safe until the route became selective enough for her climbing ability to determine the result.
It worked almost perfectly.
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Photo Credit: Getty
Why does the 2025 result matter for the 2026 race?
Ferrand-Prévot enters the 2026 Tour de France Femmes as the defending champion and one of the riders everyone else must measure themselves against.
Her 2025 win established that she could:
- Handle the positioning demands of the opening stages
- Recover across a nine-day race
- Beat Vollering and Niewiadoma-Phinney on long climbs
- Deliver consecutive mountain performances
- Defend yellow under pressure
- Win while carrying the expectations of the French public
The 2026 Tour de France Femmes route provides a different challenge, including a 21km individual time trial, Mont Ventoux and a final mountain stage around Nice.
That means the previous victory does not guarantee another.
It does confirm that Ferrand-Prévot is no longer simply a versatile champion testing herself on the road. She is a proven Tour de France Femmes winner.
Her current position and likely path towards another Tour challenge are covered in our Pauline Ferrand-Prévot 2026 season guide.
The wider field is also considerably deeper, with Vollering, Niewiadoma-Phinney, Marlen Reusser, Elisa Longo Borghini, Anna van der Breggen and several emerging contenders among the riders to watch at the 2026 Tour de France Femmes.
Who won the Tour de France Femmes 2025?
Pauline Ferrand-Prévot won the 2025 Tour de France Femmes for Team Visma | Lease a Bike.
She took the yellow jersey by winning Stage 8 on the Col de la Madeleine and then confirmed her victory with another stage win in Châtel on the final day.
Ferrand-Prévot finished 3:42 ahead of Demi Vollering and 4:09 ahead of Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney.
Her first Tour appearance ended with two mountain stage wins, the yellow jersey and a historic first overall victory for a French rider in the modern race.
The Tour was decided late, but once Ferrand-Prévot attacked on the Madeleine, nobody came close to taking it away from her.
