Ferrand-Prévot conquers the mountains to claim Tour de France Femmes glory

CHÂTEL, France (3 August 2025) — The fourth edition of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift concluded on Sunday in the Alpine resort town of Châtel, where Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) raised her arms in triumph not once, but twice – first as stage winner, then as the race’s overall champion. It crystallized nine days of racing that began in the Celtic heartlands of Brittany and culminated in the rarified air of the French Alps.

From the opening salvos on the steep slopes of Cadoudal to the final decisive blow delivered by Ferrand-Prévot on the punishing gradients of Châtel, this year’s race delivered drama worthy of the Tour’s storied history. Veterans and newcomers alike etched their names into cycling folklore, crashes changed fortunes, tactical nous trumped raw power, and the relentless march of days tested not just legs but also hearts and minds.

The peloton that rolled out of Vannes on July 26th represented 154 riders across 22 teams, each harboring dreams that ranged from stage victories to the ultimate prize of the maillot jaune.

Stage 1: Vannes > Plumelec – Sweet Yellow Joy for Vos

The Tour began with chaos, ambition, and the peculiar alchemy that transforms nervous energy into racing gold. Marianne Vos (Visma-Lease a Bike), at 38 years old and with a palmares that reads like a catalog of cycling’s greatest achievements, reminded everyone why she remains one of the sport’s most formidable competitors. Her victory on the Cadoudal climb delivered more than just a stage win; it sent a statement of intent from the Dutch veteran who had arrived with serious ambitions.

 
The 78.8-kilometer opening stage from Vannes to Plumelec unfolded like a tactical chess match, with early breaks forming and dissolving in the Breton countryside. The neutralized start took place at 5:25 PM, followed by the real start at 5:42 PM following a crash that slightly delayed several riders, including Juliette Labous (FDJ-SUEZ). The peloton stopped briefly at kilometer zero to allow those riders to rejoin the bunch, a gesture of solidarity that would become increasingly rare as the race intensified.

Once the flag dropped, Laura Tomasi (Laboral Kutxa – Fundación Euskadi) launched the day’s first meaningful attack, soon joined by Maud Rijnbeek (VolkerWessels Cycling Team), the Dutch rider who would become a constant presence in breakaways throughout the race. By kilometer 10, the duo enjoyed a 30-second lead over the peloton.

At kilometer 23, Rijnbeek distanced herself from Tomasi on a climb not listed in the mountains classification, building a 35-second lead over the peloton. She maintained this advantage over the Côte de Botségalo (Category 4, kilometer 29.3, 0.8 kilometers at 5.3%), where she grabbed the first two points in the mountain classification. Behind her, Lieke Nooijen (Visma | Lease a Bike) led the peloton and scored a point for third place.

Shortly after the Botségalo climb, Rijnbeek’s solo adventure ended at kilometer 30 when the bunch caught her. As the riders reached the final circuit with four kilometers to the first crossing of the finish line on the Cadoudal climb, disaster struck. About ten riders crashed on the bridge spanning the Claie River, which marks the foot of the Cadoudal ascent. Among those involved were Marlen Reusser (Movistar Team) and Liane Lippert (Movistar Team), with Mavi Garcia (Liv-AlUla-Jayco) the last to return to the road.

At the intermediate sprint during the first crossing of the line in Plumelec, European champion Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime) took the lead, scoring the first 20 points in the green jersey standings. Behind the main action, the crash victims fought to rejoin the back of the bunch, with Clara Koppenburg (Cofidis Women Team) trailing behind them. Reusser was way further back, struggling as she reached the top of the Cadoudal climb five minutes adrift of the peloton.

Italian rider Francesca Barale (Team Picnic PostNL) then pulled away and gained a 15-second lead on the peloton entering the final 20 kilometers. By the second climb of Cadoudal, the peloton had caught Barale, while French champion Marie Le Net (FDJ-Suez), who had been working since the start of the stage for Demi Vollering (FDJ-Suez), fell behind. Elise Chabbey (FDJ-Suez) scored three points in the mountain classification at the second summit of Cadoudal (Category 3, 1.7 kilometers at 6.2%), meaning the Swiss rider would take the first polka dot jersey. There was bad news for Reusser, who was forced to abandon at the top of the second Cadoudal climb.

The finale provided the drama that Tour de France stages are built for. On the third and final ascent of the Cadoudal hill, the French fans must have believed that Ferrand-Prévot could take a famous win as she pulled several meters clear, attacking with 700 meters to go.

“Actually the whole race, of course it was short, so we knew it was going to be nervous,” Vos reflected after donning the first yellow jersey of the race. “Sometimes it was just spread out, but still you felt the tension in the bench. We wanted to do a lead out as a team before the final descent, before the corner to put Pauline and me in a good position. The girls did such an amazing job.”

The climax came when Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (Team Visma | Lease a Bike), Vos’s teammate, launched what appeared to be a race-winning attack 700 meters from the line. For a moment, it seemed the French Olympic champion might claim the opening stage on home soil. But cycling rewards experience, and Vos possessed both power and cunning in abundance.

“Then, Pauline took a gap at 500m or 400m to go. She had actually a really good gap. At that moment, of course I looked around and see who was coming, and then I saw Kim Le Court-Pienaar coming. She really had a good sprint, so I went with her and I didn’t know if Pauline was still hanging in for the finish, but in the end I saw her drop on the speed, so I sprinted with Kim and then we just caught Pauline, which is of course a bit a double feeling.”

Vos had beaten her own teammate to the line. Such is the nature of professional cycling, where individual glory and team tactics exist in constant tension.

“But I’m so happy with the team effort and that we could make it, because of course if Pauline had kept it, that’s also good. We’re here as a team and just to start off like this, that’s amazing, you can’t really describe what it means and it’s a bonus to take it, to take the yellow jersey.”

Vos scored her third win at the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift after Provins and Rosheim in 2022, joining Vollering and Wiebes as the most successful riders in the Tour in terms of stage wins, with three apiece. The victory was perfectly timed, with Kim Le Court-Pienaar (AG Insurance-Soudal Team) finishing second and Ferrand-Prévot third.

Behind the main action, other narratives began to unfold. Elise Chabbey (FDJ-Suez) claimed the first polka dot jersey for her climbing efforts, while Julie Bego (Cofidis), competing in her first Tour de France Femmes, discovered she had claimed the white jersey for best young rider.

“When I crossed the line, I didn’t know I would be wearing the white jersey!” Bego exclaimed, her surprise genuine and infectious. “I told Laura, the team assistant, that I was going back to the bus. Then I talked to Nienke [Vinke] to find out who the white jersey was, she told me she didn’t know. Then I saw Imogen Wolff, I asked her, and she said: ‘It’s you!’ Then I started to wonder if it was me, because I thought Marion Bunel was in front, but in fact no. Once I got to the bus, they told me I was wearing the white jersey, so I came back! I’m very happy to have it, it’s really incredible to wear a distinctive jersey in the Tour de France, especially in my first participation and on my first stage!”

“I would really like to thank my team for always supporting me, my parents who have always been there, even when it’s more complicated. Plus all the people who are always there for me, I would really like to thank them too, it’s thanks to them that I am able to achieve this result. I felt really good all day. At the start of the Tour, we said that we weren’t going for the general classification. Now we have to see how I feel. We don’t know how I’ll last the nine days. If I can keep it, of course I’ll fight to take it as far as possible. We’ll have to take it day by day.”

Chabbey was equally pleased with her polka dot jersey: “It really means something, it means something to everyone. It’s a huge honour to be able to wear it tomorrow. It wasn’t planned at all. I admit I thought the points were there before [the first climb]! I hadn’t realized the points were for this climb. I felt really good today. In the end, it was more by covering an attack that I got the points. But I’m really happy! Keeping the jersey isn’t the priority, because the idea remains to go for the Yellow Jersey with Demi Vollering. We have to get our legs going, but I think we rode well as a team. In the end, a gap opened up, and she lost a little time. She was perhaps missing some teammates at the end. It’s true that my legs failed me in the last 500 meters, because I had also made a lot of effort. But it was only a few seconds, so I’m not too worried about the rest. This crowd were really fun, at the start, all along the roads, it’s pushing women’s cycling up a notch and it gives you wings!”

Franziska Koch (Team Picnic PostNL) also earned recognition for her aggressive racing: “It’s incredible, thank you very much. I was really excited for today. I really hoped for an aggressive race, so yeah that’s why I tried. If you don’t try, you never know. I gave it a shot. I knew it might get strung out because of the sprint points, but then I looked back and I kind of had like a small gap, so then I thought, ‘OK you go for it, let’s go for yellow’. It’s amazing. It’s really cool to stand on the podium seeing all the crowds and it definitely makes me hungry for more.”

The stage also provided early heartbreak for Marlen Reusser (Movistar Team), the Swiss time trial specialist who abandoned after a crash and illness, having also felt sick with a stomach illness for several days. The Tour de France remains a brutal test where even the strongest can fall victim to circumstance.

Stage 2: Brest > Quimper – Daring Garcia Snatches Victory in Quimper

If Stage 1 belonged to experience and tactics, Stage 2 showcased audacity and the enduring power of veteran racecraft. Following Marianne Vos’s triumph at the summit of Cadoudal on Saturday, the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift featured another classic finish on Sunday in Quimper, where the Rue de Stang Bihan (1 kilometer at 4.8%) awaited the peloton. It was here that Peter Sagan had won the fifth stage of the Tour de France in a sprint in 2018.

 
The 110.4-kilometer parcours from Brest to Quimper featured four climbs that promised explosive racing. The climbs of Menez Quelerc’h (Category 3, 3 kilometers at 6.2%) and Locronan (Category 4, 0.8 kilometers at 8.9%) are iconic in the great history of Finistère cycling, though they seemed a little far from the finish to see a real battle. The decisive moment was expected to come on the climb of the Chemin de Trohéir (Category 4, 1.1 kilometers at 5.7%), which would be tackled twice, the last time 4.7 kilometers from the finish.

Following the withdrawal before the stage of Charlotte Kool (Team Picnic PostNL) – winner of the first two stages the previous year – 152 riders took the start in Brest shortly after midday. After several early attacks and counter-attacks, by kilometer 25 Aude Biannic (Movistar) and Franziska Koch (Picnic PostNL) were 1’10” ahead of the peloton. Also close to kilometer 25, there was a crash for Kristen Faulkner (EF Education-Oatly), leaving the Olympic Champion trailing with three other riders for several kilometers.

Koch took maximum points at the intermediate sprint in Châteaulin (kilometer 45.6) with Biannic following her across the line. In the bunch sprint behind them, there was a close duel between Yellow Jersey holder Marianne Vos (Visma | Lease a Bike) and European Champion Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime), but it was Wiebes who had the power to claim third place, earning 17 points in the Green Jersey standings.

Just 5 kilometers later, just before the top of the first categorized climb of the day (Côte de Menez Quelerc’h – Category 3, 3 kilometers at 6.2%, kilometer 50.7), Silke Smulders (Liv-AlUla-Jayco) and Elise Chabbey (FDJ-Suez) attacked and caught Koch and Biannic, with Smulders, Chabbey and Koch the first three riders over the summit.

Maud Rijnbeek (VolkerWessels), who had also featured in the Stage 1 breakaway, joined forces with Chabbey and Smulders at the front. Next up was the Côte de Locronan (Category 4, 0.8 kilometers at 8.9%, kilometer 68.4). Chabbey beat Smulders to the summit, with Rijnbeek left behind them on the climb, as the peloton reached the top 45 seconds later. After the climb, the duo of Chabbey and Smulders pulled further ahead of Rijnbeek, who was joined by Maëva Squiban (UAE Team ADQ) on the counter-attack, with the peloton split in two behind them.

By the penultimate categorized climb of the day (Côte du Chemin de Trohéir Category 4, 1.1 kilometers at 5.7 kilometers, kilometer 79.9), Squiban had joined the front two of Chabbey and Smulders, riding hard on the ascent. Chabbey was too strong for her rivals and accelerated for two more points in her polka dot jersey. When that trio reached the ‘finish line’ in Quimper to start the final 26-kilometer loop, they were 43 seconds ahead of the bunch.

Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney (CANYON//SRAM zondacrypto) attacked with just under 23 kilometers to go and was followed by Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (Team Visma | Lease a Bike), the pair soon creating a gap over the bunch, but 4 kilometers later they were caught by the peloton.

Riejanne Markus (Lidl-Trek) counter-attacked from the peloton 19 kilometers from the finish, bridging the gap to the leading group to join forces with Squiban, Chabbey and Smulders. With 17 kilometers remaining, that quartet had a 20-second lead. But their adventure would come to an end with 12.2 kilometers to go, as the power of the peloton proved too much and they were caught.

Just over 10 kilometers before the finish, the oldest rider in the race, 41-year-old Mavi Garcia (Liv AlUla Jayco), pulled away, soon creating a 20-second gap and leading on the final climb of the day, the second ascent of Côte du Chemin de Trohéir. The experienced Spanish rider proved too strong for the chasing pack, holding on for a famous win in front of Wiebes by just 3 seconds in Quimper.

Garcia, at 41 years and 6 months, became the oldest stage winner in Tour de France Femmes history, beating the former record of Annemiek Van Vleuten (39 years 9 months 23 days, La Super Planche des Belles Filles 2022). Her victory in Quimper transcended statistical footnotes – it testified to the enduring power of determination and tactical intelligence.

“I can’t believe it to be honest. I’ve had a hard year. I’ve been racing for a long time and I hadn’t been having my best year, but this win really gives me a massive boost of energy,” Garcia said, her voice still carrying the disbelief of someone who had dared to dream and seen that dream realized.

“I really didn’t believe I was going to win at the end, I’ve tried many times like that and it never worked out, so I just couldn’t believe it until I was five metres from the line and I turned around and saw they wouldn’t catch me. It was only then that I knew I’d really done it. It’s been a long, long time since I had any feeling this good in my career.”

Behind Garcia’s solo effort, the battle for the general classification heated up. Kim Le Court-Pienaar (AG Insurance – Soudal Team), the South African rider, sprinted to second place behind Garcia, earning enough time bonuses to claim the yellow jersey from Vos. The mathematics of Grand Tour racing proved cruel and precise – Le Court-Pienaar and Vos finished with identical times, but the former’s superior stage placings over the first two days gave her the race lead.

“My team said we can take yellow today, but I could not believe it, to be honest I think I’m still a bit shocked,” Le Court-Pienaar admitted. “It was the plan to do it today. We also tried to take it yesterday, but then today we tried again everything we have. The ultimate goal of the team is to fight for GC towards the end of the Tour for the overall, but our goal was also to win a stage. I’ve come close twice, but now that I have the Yellow Jersey on my shoulders, it’s already a massive achievement for the team and for myself. So we’re going to try and stay calm and stay safe and not lose any time until the end of the week. The disappointment of finishing second yesterday of course was a bit upsetting, but it’s a long week, so anything can happen and I’m still going to keep my head on my shoulders and we’re just going to keep on doing what we’ve been doing since yesterday. Just take it day by day and follow the plan.”

For Vos, the loss of yellow disappointed but didn’t devastate. “We knew it was going to be a hard day and it was, but to wear the Yellow Jersey in the Tour de France is something special. It’s also really nice to keep the Green Jersey. We were trying to go for the best again today, but we knew it was going to be hard and it’s so tight in the classification. It’s only day two, but we’re going to think about it (the fight for the Green Jersey).”

Chabbey reflected on her successful defense of the polka dot jersey: “We’re looking forward to the mountains. On the first climb, I was told on the radio that I could score points to secure the polka dot jersey. We found ourselves at the front with Silke [Smulders]. At the beginning, I was told not to ride too hard so I could save my energy for the final, which was for Demi [Vollering]. We opened up a gap quite quickly without riding too hard, so they let me go a bit. The peloton picked up a bit, which allowed us to gain some space. It was a really tough course. It was tiring, but cool to be at the front. It’s crazy, there were really a lot of fans at the roadside, I heard my name being called out by them even though I’m not even French! There was lots of encouragement, it was a pretty incredible experience. With Demi we know that her strong point is the mountains. Next weekend will be especially important. For now, she’s where she needs to be. We’re looking forward to the mountains to come.”

Julie Bego (Cofidis) successfully defended her white jersey despite a challenging stage: “It was tough, especially as we got back to the hotel very late yesterday. I slept very little, less than four hours, so I wasn’t at my best this morning! But it worked out in the end, I kept the jersey, which is the main thing. I was mainly focused on [Nienke] Vinke. At one point, I knew it was going to be difficult to keep up with the leaders because I had been dropped. On the penultimate climb, I stupidly got dropped because I was behind, and [Elisa] Longo Borghini pulled away because she couldn’t take it anymore. The Picnic [Team Picnic PostNL] girls, to my left and right, were also exhausted, and I found myself blocked in where I couldn’t get past. I had to brake to get back in front. I had to make a huge effort to get back into the peloton at that point. On the final climb, I was dropped among the frontrunners, but I knew I was with Vinke and keeping the white jersey. It was a relief though, because I really wanted to experience the podium a second time!”

Maëva Squiban (UAE Team ADQ) earned the most combative rider award and reflected on racing at home: “It’s always nice [to be recognised as Most Combative Rider], especially being practically at home; it was really the stage I wanted to shine in. It was a good time, at the Tour de France, at home and with all the Bretons! Elisa [Longo Borghini] is a great teammate. She’s not here for the general classification. I don’t know how far behind she’ll finish. But it was still a good day for the team and like I say we’re not here for the GC. There are still seven stages left, the Tour is long, you never know what can happen. But so far, everything’s going well. Elisa is a fantastic teammate; it’s really nice to have her on the team and for her to be our captain.”

Stage 3: La Gacilly > Angers – Wiebes Triumphs in Frantic Angers Finale

The third stage delivered what many had predicted – a pure sprinter’s stage that would test the nerves and positioning skills of the fastest women in the peloton. Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime) demonstrated why she ranks as the best pure sprinter in women’s cycling with a commanding victory in Angers, her fourth in the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, putting her at the top of the stage winners list.

 
Elisa Longo Borghini (UAE Team ADQ) did not take the start of Stage 3 in La Gacilly, withdrawing beforehand due to illness, meaning there were 146 riders in the peloton as the day’s action commenced. After several early attacks, it was eventually Alison Jackson (EF Education-Oatly), Sara Martin (Movistar), Clémence Latimier (Arkéa – B&B Hotels Women) and Catalina Soto Campos (Laboral Kutxa-Fundacion Euskadi) who formed a breakaway quartet from kilometer 14, with Franziska Brausse (Ceratizit) and Alison Avoine (St Michel-Preference Home-Auber 93) counter-attacking behind them.

By the time the leading four reached the summit of Côte de la Richardière (Category 4, kilometer 34.1) – with Jackson going over first for two points in the mountains classification and with Martin in second place (1 point) – the peloton were three minutes behind them and the counter-attackers Brausse and Avoine were neutralized by the bunch. AG Insurance – Soudal Team rider Kim Le Court-Pienaar’s Yellow Jersey was not threatened by the breakaway, as the best-placed rider in the quartet, Alison Jackson (69th), was 11’59” behind the leader before Stage 3.

The peloton allowed the four escapees to stay in front en route to the intermediate sprint at Vern d’Anjou (kilometer 123.9), just steadily chipping away at the advantage they allowed the breakaway. Jackson led the break through the intermediate sprint at Vern d’Anjou, followed by Soto Campos, Latimier and Martin, whilst at the head of the peloton Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime) beat Marianne Vos (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) in the sprint for fifth, to earn 13 points, as Vos earned 11.

After the intermediate sprint, Demi Vollering (FDJ-Suez) accelerated in a brief attack but she was marked by a group of ten riders and the bunch stayed together, SD Worx-Protime doing most of the work at the front over the final kilometers into Angers, with Canyon//SRAM zondacrypto eventually joining them at the head of the peloton.

Inside the final 10 kilometers, the breakaway imploded with Latimier distanced as Martin and Jackson attacked and then Soto Campos briefly went clear with 7.5 kilometers to go. After the respective attacks in the break, they were finally caught by the bunch with just under 6 kilometers to go.

But the stage will be remembered as much for what happened in the final kilometers as for Wiebes’s victory. A large crash 3.7 kilometers from the finish disrupted the sprint trains and caught several key riders, including defending champion Demi Vollering (FDJ-Suez). The crash highlighted the razor-thin margins between success and disaster in professional cycling.

The victory for Wiebes is her fourth in the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, putting her top of the stage winners list, whilst the second place finish for Vos was enough to put her back in the Yellow Jersey at the top of the GC by 6″ from Kim Le Court-Pienaar (AG Insurance – Soudal Team) and by 12″ from Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (Team Visma | Lease a Bike). Her lead was built on consistency and tactical awareness, qualities that had served the Dutch rider throughout her legendary career. Demi Vollering was delayed by the late crash but was finally able to remount and complete the stage and was given the same finishing time as her GC rivals, meaning she now sat sixth overall, 19 seconds down on Vos in the classification.

“I feel amazing and I need to thank the team for all their hard work today,” Wiebes said after her victory. “They chased for so long and Lotte [Kopecky] helped put me in a really good position, so I’m really happy to take this win for the team. I was just following Lotte so I actually didn’t know the crash was happening because I was so focused on what was happening in the front and the corners were quite tricky, but I hope all the riders are OK who are involved this crash. It was pretty chaotic in the final, all the day we were fighting closely and in the end it was chaos. Lotte really positioned me well and the job Anna [van der Breggen] did in the last 3 km was really strong so today was a real team effort. I needed to finish it off for the girls. Tomorrow is another sprint stage and we’ll go for it again. Hopefully we can take the full points and we’ll see how it goes day by day.”

“Of course we knew there was quite a good chance for a bunch sprint and the team of SD Worx-Protime did a great job controlling the break,” Vos explained. “In the end when it comes to a bunch sprint you know that Lorena Wiebes is going to be the big favourite, but of course you still always try. Then there was this big crash and we hope that everything is ok. Then we went into the final sprint and it was a better sprint from Lorena. We knew it was going to be fast in the final kilometres, there was a small rise with 5km to go. It was a very fast run in to the city. The team did a really good job positioning me there and bringing me into the final kilometres. It’s always a pity when there is a crash at the end.”

The stage also saw Julie Bego (Cofidis) successfully defend her white jersey, though the young French rider was beginning to feel the cumulative effects of stage racing. “We’re getting used to this jersey!” she said with a smile that masked the growing fatigue. “This morning, I was saying to a friend that’s a problem, now that I have this white jersey, I want to keep it and get back on the podium every day! It gives you wings in the stages. It’s becoming more and more of a goal. I avoided the crash, but the rest of the team wasn’t so lucky. Amalie [Dideriksen] was really well placed but unfortunately they crashed right at the front and she was in it. I hope she’s okay. We had other crashes in the team with Eugenia [Bujak] and others. It was a bit chaotic on the radio, I don’t know who exactly crashed. It was a bit of a complicated day for us.”

Clémence Latimier (Arkéa – B&B Hotels Women) was rewarded for her day in the breakaway with the most combative rider prize: “I wasn’t expecting it at all; all the girls in the breakaway were very strong. I did the best I could. It’s incredible for me to be rewarded like this. My first podium in the Tour de France is crazy. It’s going really fast; I turned pro three months ago, which was already a huge step. Getting onto the Tour was a huge second step. I wasn’t expecting to get on the podium at this Tour. So yes, my Tour has already started very well. I hope the rest will be just as good. I’ve been working hard. I intend to recover tonight and refocus for what’s next. But I’m already going to savour this podium and everything that happened today.”

Elise Chabbey (FDJ-Suez) reflected on the team’s mixed day: “I really hope things go well [for Demi Vollering]. I was at the front, helping Ally [Wollaston], so I couldn’t even see. But apparently she couldn’t do anything; she got side-lined. She was well positioned; sometimes you just have bad luck. It was a sprint today; the goal was to keep Demi safe. It was not the best day for us. But Ally finished third and that’s really cool; she managed to position herself well in the final.”

Stage 4: Saumur > Poitiers – Wiebes Too Strong for Rivals in Poitiers

Consistency in professional cycling often proves the most underrated virtue. Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime) provided a masterclass in this philosophy on Stage 4, securing her second consecutive victory and record fifth Tour de France Femmes stage win overall. On the long final straight in Poitiers, it was Wiebes in the Green Jersey who secured the win, beating Yellow Jersey Marianne Vos (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) to the line.

 
Norwegian rider Rebecca Koerner from Uno-X Mobility was the only rider not to have started the fourth stage of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, leaving only 145 riders in the peloton at the start in Saumur. After her heavy crash in Angers at the end of Stage 3, Demi Vollering (FDJ-Suez) faced a late fitness test and underwent two concussion protocols, finally being able to start the stage.

Following numerous attacks and counterattacks in the opening kilometers, riding at a rapid pace after going solo at the front, Maud Rijnbeek (VolkerWessels Cycling Team) had covered 47.8 kilometers during the first hour of the race. She was soon joined by Franziska Koch (Team Picnic PostNL) and Ana Vitória Magalhães (Movistar Team), and by kilometer 55 the trio had created a gap of over a minute on the bunch, which was being disrupted by crosswinds behind.

By kilometer 70, Rijnbeek could no longer take the pace and left Koch and Magalhães alone at the front, those two accelerating to increase their lead to 1’16” by the time they reached the intermediate sprint marker at Soudun (kilometer 86.7). Koch crossed the intermediate sprint line ahead of Magalhães, with the bunch sprint behind them won by Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime) in the Green Jersey, ahead of Marianne Vos (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) in the Yellow Jersey.

On the only categorized climb of the day on the Côte de Marigny (Category 4, 0.9 kilometers at 5.4%, kilometer 101.6), Brazilian rider Magalhães scored her first two points in the mountains classification, the peloton reaching the summit 55 seconds later.

As the riders went into the final 10 kilometers, the peloton trailed by less than 500 meters. It was an all-out effort by the two riders in the breakaway, but the bunch were hunting them down, less than 30 seconds adrift, whilst Koch was awarded the most Combative rider prize for her persistent efforts. The peloton finally overtook the valiant Koch and Magalhães with 4 kilometers to go, and in an exciting finale it was once again Wiebes who delivered the goods, powering over the line ahead of closest challenger Vos.

The bunch sprint top five was completed by Lara Gillespie (UAE Team ADQ), Eline Jansen (VolkerWessels Cycling Team) and Chloe Dygert (CANYON//SRAM zondacrypto). Vos remained in yellow, leading by 12 seconds in the GC, ahead of Wiebes and Kim Le Court-Pienaar (AG Insurance – Soudal Team). After her heavy crash on Monday, Demi Vollering (FDJ-Suez) was fit to ride and finished the stage safely, remaining sixth in the general classification at 25 seconds.

“The whole season I would say yes [she feels unbeatable in sprints],” Wiebes said when asked about her dominance. “I’m just super happy that today we made it count again and the team did a really good job. In the meeting before the stage we said it would be good if Anna [van der Breggen] could do the uphill part in the last 3 km. Then I got into position and that was really good. On the final straight it was a big chaos and I was really fighting for position and I was able to find a way out, otherwise I was worried about getting boxed in. It’s really nice to win again and it’s really nice to finish it off for the girls after their hard work at the end again. I’m just really happy and it’s amazing to win in green.”

Vos, finishing second again, was gracious in defeat but also realistic about the challenge facing any rider trying to outsprint Wiebes. “It’s nice to keep the yellow on such a day. You know it’s going to be tough. Not only in the final, actually from the start it was fast and constantly windy, with a high pace in the bunch and then you have to stay in the front and stay in a good position. That’s pretty tough and thanks to the team that worked really well. So I’m very happy. She’s [Lorena Wiebes] just the best sprinter in the world, she’s a phenomenon in the sprint and every time she shows it again, she’s very, very hard to beat. She’s a tough competitor, but it’s good to have her.”

Elise Chabbey (FDJ-Suez) maintained her polka dot jersey and looked ahead to the coming challenges: “We’re not going to give up after a crash. We know Demi [Vollering] will fight to the end anyway. We’ll support her so she can do her best. Can I keep the polka dot jersey? I don’t know, you never know. It might be the last day I wear it, so I might as well go with the full kit!”

Franziska Koch’s (Team Picnic PostNL) combativity award reflected a philosophy that would characterize her team’s approach throughout the Tour. “It’s not the goal [to get Combative rider awards], but maybe it’s a side effect!” she laughed. “We go for stage wins and yeah today it wasn’t enough, but at least it’s a nice podium. We aimed from the beginning for actually racing aggressively. We have nothing to lose, so we knew the breakaway could be cool and originally I thought there was a little bit more tailwind actually. I was like, ‘OK, why not, we keep trying for a break’ and I hoped for a bigger one, but in the end it was just two of us. It’s really nice how we race, we are aggressive. We want to create the race and we also always have another card with a strong sprinter in the end, so it’s really fun racing.”

Julie Bego (Cofidis) successfully defended her white jersey but acknowledged the growing challenge: “I didn’t lose any time and I stayed in the peloton, that’s the good news. Today was very complicated for me. I had a lot of trouble getting into position. It was very nervous, I found there was a lot of friction. I found it was harder to work on than yesterday. I had a really good team around me. Victoire [Berteau] and Nadia [Quagliotto] helped me enormously to get into position. It’s also thanks to them that I was able to keep the white jersey. Obviously, the idea of fighting for the white jersey is now very important. We’ll try to fight for it and see if I don’t have a bad day. If, unfortunately, I have a bad day and the general classification is finished, we’ll come back to the stages.”

Stage 5: Chasseneuil-du-Poitou Futuroscope > Guéret – Le Court-Pienaar Takes Guéret Victory and Yellow

The longest stage of the 2025 Tour de France Femmes, at 165.8 kilometers, promised to be a war of attrition. What it delivered was a perfectly executed tactical masterpiece by Kim Le Court-Pienaar (AG Insurance-Soudal Team) and her team. The South African’s victory in Guéret transcended a stage win – it declared that she was a serious contender for overall victory.

 
Polish rider Agnieszka Skalniak-Sójka, teammate of Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney (Canyon//SRAM zondacrypto), did not take the start, meaning there were 143 riders left in the 2025 Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift peloton as the stage commenced at the Futuroscope Park in Chasseneuil-du-Poitou. In addition, there were several withdrawals in the first part of the stage, with the likes of Olympic champion Kristen Faulkner (EF Education-Oatly), as well as Monica Trinca Colonel (Liv AlUla Jayco) and Elisa Balsamo (Lidl-Trek) forced to abandon. Faulkner was struggling with illness and had crashed on three successive stages.

The pace in the early running was very fast, with 46.5 kilometers covered in the first hour, during which Green Jersey holder Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime), winner of the last two stages, was delayed by a large crash that split the peloton into several groups. There was another crash at around kilometer 92 for Marion Bunel (Visma | Lease a Bike), with the French climber remaining on the ground and requiring some assistance to remount and get going again.

A breakaway of Alison Jackson (EF Education-Oatly), Brodie Chapman (UAE Team ADQ), Francesca Barale (Team Picnic PostNL), Catalina Soto Campos (Laboral Kutxa – Fundación Euskadi) and Anneke Dijkstra (VolkerWessels Cycling Team) had formed before that and by kilometer 105 they were riding 3’50” ahead of the peloton.

Jackson was the first of the five breakaway riders as they rolled through the Intermediate Sprint (Dun-Le-Palestel – kilometer 126.8), with Green Jersey leader Wiebes the first of the riders in the peloton in the sprint. On the Côte de Chabannes (Category 4, 1.4 kilometers at 5.2%) Chapman led at the summit, with Barale second after Dijkstra and Soto were distanced and the peloton began to close in to within 1’45”.

Next it was the Côte du Peyroux (Category 4, 3.3 kilometers at 4.3%), where Chapman attacked to go solo, distancing Jackson and then Barale on the first ramps of the ascent. Chapman reached the top first, though by then the peloton led by Elise Chabbey (FDJ-Suez) in the polka dot jersey were only 18 seconds behind, whilst the likes of Wiebes and her world champion teammate Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx-Protime) were dropped.

Chapman was caught before the last climb of the day (Le Maupuy, category 3, 2.8 kilometers at 5.3%), with Ferrand-Prévot attacking as she approached the Bonus Point, but it was Le Court-Pienaar who took the lead, taking a 6-second bonus ahead of the Frenchwoman (4 seconds) and Niewiadoma-Phinney (2 seconds). At the summit of the Maupuy climb Van der Breggen, Le Court-Pienaar, Niewiadoma-Phinney, Ferrand-Prévot, Vollering, Sarah Gigante (AG Insurance-Soudal Team) and Pauliena Rooijakkers (Fenix-Deceuninck) had pulled away, leaving the likes of Yellow Jersey Marianne Vos (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) behind.

After the 5-kilometer descent of Maupuy, the seven favorites powered through the remaining 2 kilometers to the line in Guéret where Le Court-Pienaar took the victory in a sprint finish among the GC contenders.

“We agreed the plan with the team which was to try and stay safe in the early part of the stage because it’s long and flat. That was quite difficult. There were a lot of big crashes,” Le Court-Pienaar explained. “Then the big goal was to take the bonus points, which I managed to do. Then yeah, if we finished in a small group, the goal was then try and take the stage victory. It was a bit tricky at the end. I went around the corner really fast in first position. It was closer than I expected, but luckily my kick was the fastest in the group.”

The presence of her teammate Sarah Gigante (AG Insurance-Soudal Team) in the winning group proved crucial to Le Court-Pienaar’s victory. “I had a teammate with me, so that helped a lot. I think if I didn’t have Sarah with me, maybe the chasing group would have come back because some girls in the front group were not keen to pace. I think there was only me and Demi [Vollering] that was kind of keen to do the work and get to the line. Once Sarah got back off the downhill, I was really, really lucky to have her because she just committed fully to the line and without her I wouldn’t have done what I did today and without the whole team. So this shows that teamwork is really what you need in the sport.”

When asked about appearing to celebrate early, Le Court-Pienaar was confident: “No, I don’t think so. I think when you’re on the bike you know, but maybe it can look like it on TV. It looked really close from the front, but when you turn around you can see that you have the speed and you will cross the line first. Luckily for me I had enough gap.”

Anna van der Breggen (Team SD Worx-Protime) was third, with Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney (CANYON//SRAM zondacrypto) and Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) completing the top five. Le Court-Pienaar also regained control of the Yellow Jersey, now leading the GC by 18 seconds from Ferrand-Prévot, with Vollering third at 23 seconds.

For Wiebes, the stage represented a significant setback in her green jersey campaign. A crash early in the stage left her struggling to maintain contact with the main field. “It’s never nice to crash but I landed on some bikes which helped, so I can be happy that it’s not too bad, but I felt it on the bike that I didn’t get the best snacks anymore, so now it’s recovery and on to tomorrow,” she said with characteristic understatement. “Yes, I think I need to be in a lot of breakaways for upcoming days. I think if we go for it and if it’s not working out, it’s not working out, you know, so we will see. I think Marianne [Vos – Visma | Lease a Bike] is also still going for it.”

Brodie Chapman (UAE Team ADQ) reflected on her team’s situation after losing several riders: “There was a really big fight for the breakaway. I think it took 50 km for anything to go and actually I ended up joining the breakaway a bit later on. We started and the peloton calmed down and then later on it got a bit aggressive again, so I took an opportunity and bridged across. You always have to have the belief that maybe you can go to the line. It really depends on the peloton behind, but everyone in the breakaway was pushing pretty hard, so maybe another day it goes to the line. The ones that are left here [after losing three UAE Team ADQ teammates to withdrawals] are super motivated to do something. It’s the Tour de France. It’s the biggest race. We definitely want to show ourselves and yeah it was a really nice moment today when Maëva [Squiban] came across with the group. I thought maybe she could attack and so we have to try, we have to try something, you know. [Being on the podium] Oh, it’s awesome. It’s really cool to see all the crowds here and stand on the podium at the Tour de France. It’s not the win, but it’s nice to have my work recognised.”

Julie Bego’s (Cofidis) struggle illustrated the brutal arithmetic of stage racing. “It was very, very tough. Honestly, halfway through the stage, I wouldn’t have believed I’d keep the jersey. I was really in a bad way, completely exhausted, I couldn’t even follow the wheels on the flat. I ate a lot, though. But it made me feel like I was hungry. Before that, I managed to narrowly avoid a crash, but my wheel was buckled. So I had to change bikes… and change again to get back to bike number 1, the Tour de France special, which is better than the other one. I was in a bad way, I told the team: ‘I’m dead, I can’t do it anymore.’ When the climbs arrived, I managed to get back to a decent level, let’s say. But today wasn’t a great day. The fact that I managed to hang on and keep the white jersey is already good. The girls believed in me throughout the stage and I thank them for that. On the climb, I told myself that I couldn’t give up just because of that. In this Tour, I’m discovering new limits. I’m managing to push myself perhaps even harder than in other races.”

Stage 6: Clermont-Ferrand > Ambert – Awesome Squiban Grabs Ambert Glory

Some Tour de France stage wins stand out not just for their tactical brilliance or physical prowess, but for their emotional resonance. Maëva Squiban’s (UAE Team ADQ) victory in Ambert was one such triumph – a perfectly timed attack that showcased not just her climbing ability but also her racing intelligence and sheer audacity. The 23-year-old from Brest secured the win by 1’09” from second-placed Juliette Labous (FDJ-Suez), who made it a French 1-2.

 
The stage started in the huge Place de Jaude in the heart of Clermont-Ferrand, with Valentina Cavallar (Arkéa – B&B Hotels Women) and Mie Bjørndal Ottestad (Uno-X Mobility) unable to take the start, leaving 133 riders in the peloton on the sixth day of racing. There were several short-lived breakaway attempts in the early running before Elise Chabbey (FDJ-Suez) joined Linda Zanetti (Uno-X Mobility) in the lead. The bunch closed in on the two breakaway riders before the intermediate sprint (Sermentizon – kilometer 30.1) but Chabbey still won the sprint, whilst Zanetti was relegated to 11th.

A massive breakaway featuring Chabbey then formed on the first of the day’s four climbs, the Côte de Courpiere (Category 3, 1.7 kilometers at 6.8%) and the peloton was left 40 seconds behind on the ascent, with Green Jersey Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime) further distanced. In her polka dot jersey, Chabbey was the first to the top of the Côte de Courpiere for three more climbers’ points.

The breakaway initially included Soraya Paladin (Canyon//SRAM zondacrypto), Amber Kraak (FDJ-Suez), Yara Kastelijn (Fenix-Deceuninck), Mischa Bredewold, Femke Gerritse (SD Worx-Protime), Brodie Chapman (UAE Team ADQ), Jelena Eric, Liane Lippert (Movistar), Riejanne Markus, Lauretta Hanson (Lidl-Trek), Ilse Pluimers (AG Insurance-Soudal Team), Pfeiffer Georgi (Picnic PostNL), Letizia Paternoster, Silke Smulders (Liv-AlUla-Jayco), Linda Zanetti (Uno-X Mobility), Lily Williams (Human Powered Health), Usoa Ostoloza (Laboral Kutxa-Fundacion Euskadi), Laura Molenaar (VolkerWessels) and Morgane Coston (Roland Le Dévoluy).

However, the breakaway soon diminished to 12 riders, with the summit of the second climb of the day – Côte d’Augerolles (Category 3, kilometer 45.7) — reached first by Chapman, whilst Chabbey was second for two more valuable points. As the ascent of the formidable Col du Beal (Category 1, 10.2 kilometers at 5.6%) began, the breakaway — still consisting of 12 riders – had a 53-second lead.

Chabbey launched an attack 5 kilometers from the top of the Col du Beal, with the likes of Hanson and Kraak suffering the consequences, as the lead group was reduced to eight riders. Chabbey then took 10 mountain points at the top of the Col du Beal, with Smulders second at the summit.

On the descent of the Col du Beal, the race exploded with several splits in the GC leaders group behind the break, before they all came back together. Without any respite, the riders then began the ascent to the Col du Chansert (Category 2, 6.3 kilometers at 5.5%) with the final remaining breakaway rider Chabbey caught early on the climb.

UAE Team ADQ’s Maëva Squiban then attacked from the peloton, pulling away 2.5 kilometers from the summit of the Col du Chansert and reaching the top 1’10” ahead of the bunch. Her attack on the Col du Chansert with 32 kilometers remaining was different from the early speculative moves – this was a calculated gamble by a rider who sensed her moment had arrived.

“It’s incredible, I don’t know what to say!” Squiban said, her joy evident and infectious. “When they told me I had 1’20”, 1’30”, I didn’t really believe it. I felt like I had really great legs and I especially wanted to be one step ahead at the bonus sprint, because I knew it would be a battle there. I was hoping to get into a small group at the bonus sprint. I had great legs, I looked at my watts from time to time, but I told myself that I shouldn’t look at them anymore, because I thought my meter was bugging!”

At the bottom of the Chansert descent, with 19 kilometers to go, Squiban maintained a 1’08” lead over the peloton led by Chabbey. Squiban reached the Bonus Point on the Côte de Valcivières 1’20” ahead of the GC favorites group for a 6-second prize, with Le Court-Pienaar leading the bunch and earning 4 seconds behind her and Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney (CANYON//SRAM zondacrypto) third at that point for 2 seconds. Squiban then went full gas over the final kilometers to take a memorable and clear victory in Ambert.

The victory was particularly sweet for French cycling fans, representing only the second stage win by a French rider in the Tour de France Femmes’ short history, following Cédrine Kerbaol’s win the previous year — also on Stage 6 — in Morteau.

“Honestly, the crowd was incredible, I had my father and my old coach 12 km from the finish, I passed in front of them, so then I knew I had to go all the way! It’s great. I had Amalia [Debarges] from the team waiting for me with Haribo at the finish, that motivated me even more! It’s a special day for us.”

Behind the celebration, the general classification battle was intensifying. Kim Le Court-Pienaar (AG Insurance-Soudal Team) came home third and successfully defended her yellow jersey, now leading overall by 26 seconds from Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (Team Visma | Lease a Bike), with defending champion Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney (CANYON//SRAM zondacrypto) third at 30 seconds and 2023 Tour winner Vollering fourth at 31 seconds.

“It could only have been better if I won the stage. I felt really good today. The goal was to control the race. At the beginning we kind of got a bit stuck with the big break, so we had to kind of control the race from the start, which was OK. We were preparing for that anyway from yesterday and then it was just a matter of seeing if the legs are there, if I feel good and being looked after,” Le Court-Pienaar explained. “My teammates were superb, I mean I couldn’t ask for a better team. They’re so dedicated to me and to the goal. Then next I was trying to get the bonus seconds. There was already a rider up ahead so I was able to get second place, which I did. I felt super strong. We tried to kind of close the gap to the front rider and try and get the stage, but we knew it was not going to happen, so I tried to take the last few kilometres easy and just recover for tomorrow and get third position on the line and get more bonus seconds. I couldn’t really wish for better, we’re all safe through the finish line and we keep the Yellow Jersey. I saw so many flags and my name written on the floor on the climbs and also people screaming my name. This has never happened in the past for me. So yeah that really makes me happy and makes my heart really happy. I hope I can keep on making the supporters happy.”

For Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime), the mountain stages presented an existential challenge. “I had really not good legs. I think the bad legs came also partly from the crash yesterday, so I hope tomorrow will be a bit better, but we keep on fighting for the Green Jersey and we will see. I still need to survive a lot of climbs, so yeah we’ll try our best and we will see if we can keep it, but we try to fight for it. [Do you fear the Alps?] I hope it goes quickly there, you know, but not too quick!”

Julie Bego’s (Cofidis) struggle to maintain the white jersey illustrated the brutal arithmetic of stage racing. “I suffered today. I couldn’t reach my usual level of power because I was starting to get tired. As I said at the start of the Tour, I’ve never raced for nine days in a row; my maximum is four, and even then in short races. This is really different, it’s another level, it’s very tough every day. I see that it’s much harder for me to race day after day, compared to the older riders. On the climbs, I’m doing very well. The problem is that I got dropped on the descent. When I was dropped, I thought Nienke [Vinke] was in the peloton, but then she caught up with me. There were two of us, and we both dropped technically on the descent, not physically on the climb. We did the second climb faster than the peloton because we almost came back into it, just 20 metres behind.”

Elise Chabbey (FDJ-Suez) successfully extended her lead in the polka dot jersey: “The goal was to get into the breakaway to put pressure on the teams in the general classification, so they would have to ride hard behind. I think it worked. We put the pressure on and it made the race tough, I hope it tired the other teams. [Is the polka dot jersey becoming a goal?] It’s true that being in front, I was able to pick up points. We’ll see day by day, but I have a bit of a cushion now, so it would be cool to get it. I think Demi [Vollering] is doing really well. It’s especially on the long climbs that she’ll be able to show she’s in good shape. But for now, I think we’re having a great team race.”

Stage 7: Bourg-en-Bresse > Chambéry – Chambéry Cheers as Squiban Triumphs Again

Lightning, as the saying goes, doesn’t strike twice in the same place. Except when it does. Maëva Squiban’s (UAE Team ADQ) second consecutive stage victory in Chambéry defied conventional wisdom and established her as one of the revelations of the 2025 Tour de France Femmes. Her attack on the Col du Granier, coming just two kilometers from the summit, was a carbon copy of her previous day’s winning move – audacious, perfectly timed, and executed with the confidence of a rider who had discovered her true capabilities.

 
There were no withdrawals pre-stage, meaning there were 132 riders in the peloton at the start of Stage 7. A large group of 17 riders formed a breakaway early on the stage. Those riders were Chloe Dygert (Canyon//SRAM zondacrypto), Marie Le Net (FDJ-Suez), Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx-Protime), Maëva Squiban (UAE Team ADQ), Mareille Meijering (Movistar), Lucinda Brand, Shirin van Anrooij (Lidl-Trek), Justine Ghekiere (AG Insurance Soudal-Team), Megan Jastrab (Picnic PostNL), Susanne Andersen (Uno-X Mobility), Célia Le Mouel (Ceratizit), Ruth Edwards (Human Powered Health), Alicia Gonzalez (St Michel-Preference Home-Auber 93), Alice Arzuffi (Laboral Kutxa-Fundacion Euskadi), Fiona Mangan (Winspace Orange Seal), Eline Jansen and Maud Rijnbeek (VolkerWessels).

The group had moved 1’45” ahead at kilometer 23 and covered 47.1 kilometers during the first hour, increasing their lead at the front to over three minutes, before the bunch accelerated and brought that gap down to 2’30” by kilometer 45. The chasing peloton briefly split into three groups, with gaps of ten seconds separating them, but soon came back together.

At the intermediate sprint at Groslée-Saint-Benoit (kilometer 73.2) Mangan took the maximum 25 points crossing the line ahead of Gonzalez Blanco. Within 10 kilometers of the sprint, the breakaway had opened the gap at the front to over 4 minutes.

Starting the first categorized climb of the day, the Côte de Saint-Franc (Category 2, 3.8 kilometers at 6.9%, kilometer 111.8), the gap was 4’20” and the breakaway was losing numbers, including Brand, Gonzalez, Andersen and Mangan. Stage 6 winner Squiban was first over Côte de Saint-Franc and then also led as the break went over the second major climb of the stage, the Côte de Berland (Category 4, 1.2 kilometers at 7.2%, kilometer 124.5). At the Berland summit, the gap between the escapees and the chasing peloton was 3’40”.

Before the final climb of the day — the Col du Granier (Category 2, 8.9 kilometers at 5.4%, kilometer 142.4) — the breakaway began to disintegrate due to a lack of cohesive collaboration. On the climb Rijnbeek, Edwards and Meijering were initially clear in the lead, but an aggressive Squiban made it to the front, riding with Meijering before pulling away 2 kilometers from the summit.

“Winning a Tour stage once is already huge. After this second victory today, honestly I have even less words than yesterday!” Squiban said, her disbelief still evident. “I said as a joke yesterday that I would attack at km 0. In the end I did it, but it was basically a joke! Finally, I was able to go all the way. It’s just incredible. Sometimes I say things and I just do them. It wasn’t necessarily very smart of me. But it worked. It was an incredible day. I think it was one of the hardest days of my life, both mentally and physically. But on the Tour, you have to give it your all. On the last climb, I just wanted to lie down on the ground, I couldn’t take it anymore! The last fifteen kilometres, I was halfway gone. I was just asking for [information about the] gaps and I couldn’t hear anything in the earpiece anymore.”

The 23-year-old from Brest then went flat out on the descent to leave her rivals behind, flying into Chambéry for another incredible victory in front of the huge crowds of delighted French fans. In the GC group, Le Court-Pienaar was distanced on the climb but she recovered the deficit on the final descent to stay in yellow.

The crowd also hugely enjoyed the acceleration of Cédrine Kerbaol (EF Education-Oatly) to beat Ruth Edwards (Human Powered Health) for second place, whilst Shirin van Anrooij (Lidl-Trek) and Dominika Włodarczyk (UAE Team ADQ) completed the top five.

Le Court-Pienaar’s struggle on the final climb was telling – the South African was dropped but managed to rejoin on the descent, demonstrating both her technical skills and her refusal to surrender the yellow jersey without a fight. Le Court-Pienaar continued to lead overall by 26 seconds from Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (Team Visma | Lease a Bike), with defending champion Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney (CANYON//SRAM zondacrypto) third at 30 seconds and 2023 Tour winner Vollering fourth at 31 seconds.

“I wasn’t feeling so good actually before the stage. For a few days actually I’ve been going through some stuff, but I try to put it under the duvet and kind of hide it and try and manage it as best as possible,” Le Court-Pienaar admitted with refreshing honesty. “I’ve got a really good team around me and on the last climb it was really difficult for me personally. My body just completely shut off, but then I just never gave up. I just kept on looking at my own tempo, my own numbers, all the way to the top. Then I had to do the best descent of my life. I think with my whole team working so hard this whole week it’s really, really difficult to give up. You just don’t want to disappoint them and disappoint the people that came all the way to see me or watching me all the way from Mauritius and overseas and supporting me. I had to really fight deep. I’ve got a really strong mindset, so I think that’s my advantage. I knew the downhill. I reconned it before with the team. So I just had to do the best downhill of my life and try and kill myself a few times and a few hairpins and yeah I got back. I’m pretty happy I got back.”

When asked about her chances of keeping yellow until the end, Le Court-Pienaar was realistic: “I don’t know. It depends how good I recover tonight. It depends how my body will be through the night. We’ll just take it day by day. My teammate Sarah [Gigante] is looking really good. I think she’s actually feeling really chilled and at ease in this tour so far, so I think tomorrow is going to be fireworks.”

For the sprint jersey competition, it was a good day for Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime): “The breakaway was out in front and took all the points, so it was a good day for me. I think tomorrow will be quite important, if one of us survives the first climb to be able to sprint for the points, and it depends how hard they’re going to go off the climb. I mean today I felt pretty good until one point. I think that’s quite normal, but tomorrow it’s a really, really hard stage.”

In the white jersey competition, Nienke Vinke (Team Picnic PostNL) moved into the lead: “Yes the white jersey is a goal now, so for the next two days I hope to keep it, but it’s not easy because there are two really hard stages coming. I will give it everything. I was just following the best climbers and trying to stay in the group as long as possible, and I got dropped a bit later than Julie [Bego] and then I just kept riding to keep a little gap, but she was really determined. She didn’t give up because I saw that she was there for the whole climb with only a small gap, so it was not easy, but I’m happy that I’m in white now. [Do you feel confident to keep it until the end?] Yeah, I think so. Normally at the end of the week I get better, so I think yes, hopefully I will have some good days, tomorrow and the day after.”

Stage 8: Chambéry > Saint François Longchamp – Col de la Madeleine – Ferrand-Prévot Masters the Madeleine for Yellow

The Col de la Madeleine has the capacity to reveal truths about riders that flatter terrain might obscure. At 18.6 kilometers with an average gradient of 8.1%, it revealed on Stage 8 that Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) was operating on a different level from her competitors. The penultimate stage of the 2025 Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift was won in style by Ferrand-Prévot in Saint François Longchamp.

 
Dilyxine Miermont, the Frenchwoman from Ceratizit, did not start Stage 8, meaning there were 129 riders in the Tour peloton as the racing commenced. The Dutch climber Riejanne Markus (Lidl-Trek) attacked in the company of Usoa Ostolaza (Laboral Kutxa-Fundaction Euskadi), 5 kilometers into the first climb and 8 kilometers from the Col du Plainpalais summit. Markus was joined by 13 other riders in the breakaway, including her teammate Niamh Fisher-Black (Lidl-Trek), as well as Evita Muzic (FDJ-Suez), Elise Chabbey (also FDJ-Suez), Justine Ghekiere (AG Insurance – Soudal Team) and Yara Kastelijn (Fenix-Deceuninck).

Winner of the last two stages, Maëva Squiban (UAE Team ADQ) rocketed out of the peloton in an attempt to close the 29 seconds separating her from the breakaway 3 kilometers from the top of the Plainpalais climb. She soon joined the front group to make it 15 in the lead, but in the polka dot jersey Chabbey took 10 more QOM points at the Col de Plainpalais (kilometer 13.3) summit, ahead of Squiban and Markus.

Following the Plainpalais descent, en route to the intermediate sprint, the peloton let go and allowed the breakaway to build a lead of 3’40” with 73 kilometers to go. However there were attacks from the front of the break and Squiban caught up with Lotte Claes (Arkéa – B&B Hotels Women) and Franziska Koch (Picnic PostNL). With 70 kilometers to go, this trio had a 12-second lead over the rest of the breakaway, 2’32” over counter attackers Celia Le Mouel (CERATIZIT Pro Cycling Team) and Morgane Coston (Roland Le Devoluy), and 3’38” over the peloton.

Ahead of the intermediate sprint the breakaway all came back together at the front, whilst behind there was drama as Yellow Jersey Kim Le Court-Pienaar (AG Insurance – Soudal Team) crashed whilst leading the peloton. She was soon back on her bike but lost significant ground and had to chase back hard to re-join the favorites group.

The descent of Le Frêne further took its toll, with the peloton splitting into groups after Le Court-Pienaar’s crash. In the first peloton group chasing the breakaway, only about 20 riders remained, including Ferrand-Prévot, Kerbaol and Vollering, with Le Court-Pienaar in a second group which trailed by a minute. German champion Koch took the lead at the Intermediate Sprint in Châteaufort (kilometer 56.7), ahead of Squiban. The breakaway was by then only 2’44” ahead of the first group of the peloton.

Before the second categorized climb of the day – Côte de Saint-Georges-d’Hurtières (Category 2, 4.9 kilometers at 5.9%) – the first part of the peloton, led for a time by FDJ-Suez despite Muzic’s presence in the breakaway, finally relented, allowing Le Court-Pienaar to re-join the other favorites. But the peloton had lost ground to the breakaway again: 3’43” with 45 kilometers to go.

Without a particularly strong effort over the other riders in the leading group, Chabbey extended her lead in the mountains classification by taking first place at the summit of the Côte de Saint-Georges-d’Hurtières. Second-placed Squiban scored three points, meaning Chabbey was guaranteed to retain the polka-dot jersey for one more day by finishing the stage.

Beginning the final Col de la Madeleine (Hors category, 18.6 kilometers at 8.1%) climb the Yellow Jersey group was only 1’40” behind the breakaway, which soon lost Claes, Chabbey and Squiban. The break slowly disintegrated on the tough Madeleine ascent with only Fisher-Black and Kastelijn remaining in the lead 13 kilometers from the summit.

While her teammate Le Court-Pienaar had just finished her work in the front of the group before cracking, the Australian climber Sarah Gigante (AG Insurance – Soudal Team) went on the offensive with 12 kilometers to go, with only Ferrand-Prévot of the GC favorites able to stay with her on the climb.

The Olympic mountain bike champion’s attack with nine kilometers remaining wasn’t just a move to win a stage – it declared intent that reframed the entire general classification battle. After impressive work from her teammate Marion Bunel (Team Visma | Lease a Bike), Ferrand-Prévot attacked at the start of the final nine kilometers, with Gigante unable to keep up with her. The Frenchwoman caught Kastelijn and Fisher-Black seven kilometers from the summit, with Kastelijn immediately distanced and Ferrand-Prévot leaving Fisher-Black behind with five kilometers to go, powering to the summit for a sensational victory.

Her eventual margin of victory, 1’45” over Sarah Gigante (AG Insurance – Soudal Team), told only part of the story. The manner of her victory – measured, controlled, inexorable – suggested a rider who had found the form that had eluded her since her return to road racing.

“It’s a dream to wear the jersey and I don’t even know what to say! It’s more than what I expected and I’m so, so happy,” Ferrand-Prévot said, her emotion genuine and unguarded. “I can’t wait to see my teammates and to share this jersey with them because they have been a big, big part of this victory and this Yellow Jersey. So I just want to give it to everyone and to say thank you to them. The French public have been amazing since the start of the Tour de France [Femmes avec Zwift]. Today on the climb I was really suffering, but I could hear all the people along the road and it was just a good feeling.”

The victory culminated months of focused preparation. “I’ve worked so hard to get where I am now. I decided to come back on the road and at first was not very successful. I started the season and I worked so hard and the last month, the last two months I did really a lot of training at altitude on the mountain. Today it’s paying off, so I am so happy I’ve done everything to be the best today and to be able to wear this jersey, it means a lot. For sure I will give everything for the jersey tomorrow. My teammates will be there to support me, so it makes me feel a bit more relaxed about it. I’m wearing this jersey today, so even if I don’t win the Tour de France, I will be super happy. It’s a dream come true for me. It was so painful the last kilometres also because I wanted to have a gap as big as possible for tomorrow and I also tried to enjoy it, but you know until the finish line is crossed it’s not over yet. So I just wanted to go as fast as possible to the finish line.”

Behind Ferrand-Prévot’s solo effort, the general classification was being rewritten. Kim Le Court-Pienaar’s (AG Insurance-Soudal Team) brave defense of the yellow jersey finally ended on the slopes of the Madeleine, where the accumulated fatigue of leading the race and the pure gradient proved too much. Her crash earlier in the stage had been an ominous portent, and while she fought courageously, the writing was on the wall.

Niamh Fisher-Black (Lidl-Trek) was third at 2’15”, with Demi Vollering (FDJ-Suez) fourth at 3’03”, crossing the line just ahead of fifth-placed Yara Kastelijn (Fenix-Deceuninck). The GC battle was truly ignited on the tough ascent of the Col de la Madeleine as expected, with the stage results putting Ferrand-Prévot 2’37” clear at the top of the classification, with Gigante second, Vollering third (3’18”) and Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney (CANYON//SRAM zondacrypto) fourth (3’40”).

Sarah Gigante’s (AG Insurance – Soudal Team) second place rewarded her own aggressive racing, highlighting the depth of talent in the women’s peloton.

Demi Vollering’s (FDJ-Suez) fourth place was both disappointing and encouraging in equal measure. The defending champion had shown she possessed the climbing legs to contend, but lacked the explosive acceleration that separates stage winners from also-rans.

Elise Chabbey (FDJ-Suez) successfully defended her polka dot jersey and looked back on her day in the break: “The goal was to get into the breakaway with Evita [Muzic] to give a relay in the final. I didn’t really follow what happened, but apparently it didn’t work out the way we really wanted. But we tried, we still had a great stage with two of us at the front and that allowed me to keep the jersey. [Wearing the polka dot jersey in La Madeleine] It was pretty crazy. With the crowd there, all those people in the polka dot jersey. It was the jersey with the most representation in La Madeleine!”

Nienke Vinke (Team Picnic PostNL) successfully defended her white jersey despite a challenging stage: “I’m happy that I’m still in white. I suffered a lot today because the start was immediately a big climb uphill and the pace was really high. The whole day it was hard except for some of the riding in the valleys. I was a bit unlucky because I had a flat tyre and the car was quite far behind, so it was a stressful moment and then I had to push quite hard to make the gap smaller. That was a bit unlucky because I started the Madeleine quite far behind the bunch. So I really suffered today, but I think everyone had a hard day and this climb [Madeleine] was so hard. I think after the second last climb she [Julie Bego, rival for the white jersey] was dropped so that was a really good situation for me as I was in the first group. Then it was unlucky that I got the flat tyre, because otherwise I could have started the climb already in front of her. In the end it was fine because I made it back to her before the climb, so we started together and I was just a bit faster.”

Stage 9: Praz-sur-Arly > Châtel – Victory and Yellow Glory for Ferrand-Prévot

The final stage of any Grand Tour carries unique emotional weight. It simultaneously serves as epilogue and climax, celebration and reckoning. For some riders, it represents the culmination of weeks of suffering in pursuit of glory; for others, it provides merciful end to dreams that have gradually withered under relentless pressure.

 
Brodie Chapman (UAE Team ADQ) and Chloe Dygert (CANYON//SRAM zondacrypto) were non-starters, meaning 126 riders took the start of the final stage in Praz-sur-Arly. In a fast and furious start SD Worx-Protime were very active. The Dutch team ignited the fire via Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime) at kilometer 0, but the sprinter was soon brought back to the bunch. Anna van der Breggen (SD Worx-Protime) then attacked with Femke Gerritse and they went clear at the front. Behind that leading duo, Lotte Kopecky counter-attacked, the world champion accompanied by Lucinda Brand (Lidl-Trek), with that powerful foursome forming an early break.

The breakaway quartet was soon caught and then a second peloton group containing Yellow Jersey wearer Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (Visma | Lease a Bike), which had briefly lost a few seconds, caught back up with the leading bunch at kilometer 26. The regrouped peloton then began the Arâches-la-Frasse climb (Category 1, 6.2 kilometers at 7.1%, kilometer 33.9) with Ferrand-Prévot back in the front group.

On that climb Van der Breggen attacked several times, finally snapping the elastic and leaving the bunch behind, gaining over a minute of advantage by the time she topped the summit alone. A reduced Yellow Jersey group of select riders then reached the summit, with Maëva Squiban (UAE Team ADQ), Demi Vollering (FDJ Suez), Ferrand Prévot and Brand completing the top five on the climb.

With 83 kilometers to go, Van der Breggen (SD Worx-Protime) had a 1’35” lead over the Yellow Jersey group, which had grown to 16 since the return of Riejanne Markus (Lidl-Trek). Van der Breggen led at the Intermediate Sprint, whilst just before that point, around 30 chasing riders had returned to the group of GC favorites. Among them was Lorena Wiebes. The Dutchwoman took advantage of this to move into second place at the Morillon Intermediate Sprint (49.5 kilometers) and ensure she confirmed the Green Jersey, provided she finished the stage within the time limit.

Already alone in the lead for about 20 kilometers, Van der Breggen began to tackle the toughest climb of the day (Col de Joux-Plane, Hors Categorie, 11.6 kilometers at 8.5%) with a 1’45” lead over the peloton. Fifth overall at the start of the day, Cédrine Kerbaol (EF Education-Oatly) crashed with her teammate Noemie Ruegg, as well as Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney (4th overall), just before the Joux-Plane. Niewiadoma-Phinney quickly remounted to stay with the favorites group on the climb, whilst Kerbaol lost 30 seconds and then fell further behind.

At the top of the Joux-Plane Van der Breggen was 45 seconds ahead of the yellow jersey group, which had been reduced to eight riders. On the Joux-Plane descent Sarah Gigante (AG Insurance – Soudal Team) — who had been offensive on the climb — lost contact with the favorites group, jeopardizing her second position in the GC. The likes of Niewiadoma-Phinney and Vollering, both keen to leapfrog Gigante in the overall standings, applied the pressure and the AG Insurance – Soudal Team rider fell two minutes behind them, before the final climb of the Tour, the Col du Corbier (Category 1, 5.9 kilometers at 8.5%).

Ferrand-Prévot, Vollering, Niewiadoma-Phinney, Włodarczyk, Fisher-Black and Labous caught and overtook Van der Breggen on the climb, with Vollering leading at the summit, closely marked by her rivals.

With the descent from Le Corbier over, the Yellow Jersey Ferrand-Prévot was still safely in the lead group. All that remained was to climb the long (20 kilometers), irregular, uphill section to the finish in Châtel. Ferrand-Prévot put on a show for the fans, attacking with 6.7 kilometers remaining and not looking back from there as she took a famous win and confirmed the Yellow Jersey with a flourish.

Pauline Ferrand-Prévot’s (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) victory in Châtel was the perfect ending to a story that had been building throughout the nine days of racing. Her attack with 6.7 kilometers remaining was delivered with the confidence of a rider who knew she was the strongest in the race and was determined to prove it one final time.

“I came back on the road after my Olympic title, and I said I will try to win the Tour de France in the next three years. So here I am, the first one!” Ferrand-Prévot said, her achievement placing her in select company. “It was an amazing season with my team. My teammates worked super hard for me all week long. I just want to say thank you and congrats to them, to my entire team, I love you so much girls, and thank you for everything really!”

A thrilling final stage saw Ferrand-Prévot cross the finish line 20 seconds ahead of Demi Vollering (FDJ-Suez), who also finished second overall by 3’42” in the general classification. Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney (CANYON//SRAM zondacrypto) was third on the stage, finishing 23 seconds behind Ferrand-Prévot on the day and third overall at 4’09”, completing the podium and maintaining her 100% record of top 3 Tour results. The Stage 9 top five was completed by Niamh Fisher-Black (Lidl-Trek) and Dominika Włodarczyk (UAE Team ADQ), leaving Włodarczyk fourth in the GC and Fisher-Black fifth overall. Starting the day second in the GC, Sarah Gigante (AG Insurance – Soudal Team) lost ground to the leaders’ group on the Joux-Plane descent and finally finished the stage seventh (3’53”), meaning she was sixth in the GC at 6’40”.

The stage began with SD Worx-Protime throwing everything at the race, a final desperate gambit to change the overall standings. Anna van der Breggen’s (SD Worx-Protime) solo attack over the Col de Joux-Plane was a masterpiece of tactical racing, but ultimately insufficient to overturn Ferrand-Prévot’s commanding lead.

Behind the battle for overall victory, other narratives reached their conclusions. For Demi Vollering (FDJ-Suez), the final stage represented both disappointment and pride. The defending champion had come close to stage victories throughout the Tour but couldn’t quite capture that elusive win.

“I mean yesterday when I couldn’t follow with Sarah [Gigante] and Pauline [Ferrand-Prevot], then afterwards I was pretty sure that it was not so much possible anymore to move to yellow, but still I really wanted to try to move up in GC and also to go for a stage victory, because that’s also what I was missing this Tour de France,” Vollering explained. “I came really close a few times, but no stage victory this year.”

Despite the lack of stage wins, Vollering found satisfaction in her team’s performance. “But still I think how we fought as a team the whole day and also the whole Tour de France and I’m really proud of that. In a new team, everything went really well as a team, so I’m really proud of that and at this moment that makes me very happy. Now we need to recover and rest and then we go back to the drawing board and see what we can do better for the coming years.”

For Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney (CANYON//SRAM zondacrypto), the final podium position represented both achievement and understanding of how the sport continues to evolve. Her third consecutive Tour de France Femmes podium finish demonstrated remarkable consistency at the highest level.

“Yesterday was the stage where we could actually see the pure strength of each rider, because the previous stages I feel like everyone was kind of conservative. We all were looking at each other and looking for the moves and the climbs were not big enough, I would say for bigger attacks,” Niewiadoma-Phinney reflected. “It was all about like 4% or 5% gradient, so there was a lot of just waiting for Col de la Madeleine.”

“Anyway, I’m definitely super happy to finish on the podium. Also knowing that every single edition we finished on the podium is something special and we feel proud of that. I know that I did everything I could to prepare for the battle. The shape was really great but on Col de la Madeleine I think maybe the climb didn’t suit me necessarily or like the first part of the climb was really steep, so I felt like it was kind of hard for me to find the rhythm. On today’s climbs it was just a lot easier in some ways.”

Her assessment of the sport’s progression was particularly insightful: “[The level this year] is definitely higher, every single rider, this is the growth of women’s cycling. If you were to push the same power that you were pushing last year, you would be not even in the top 10 here, so it’s a constant progress.”

Elise Chabbey (FDJ-Suez) successfully defended her polka dot jersey, though not without drama on the final stage. Her joy at securing the mountains classification was evident, particularly given that it hadn’t been a primary objective at the race’s start.

“Every day I told myself it was another day wearing it! It’s a jersey that’s pretty incredible to win. I really enjoyed every day. It clearly wasn’t the team’s main objective. But I had this jersey from the first day. I’m quite grateful to the team for letting me keep it and go in the breakaways, because that’s how I was able to keep it,” Chabbey said.

The final stage tested her resolve: “From the first climb [today], I exploded. I really wasn’t feeling well; I think I paid for the efforts of the last few days. Afterwards I knew it wasn’t in my hands. I told myself that if she [Maëva Squiban] took it, it would be deserved. If on the other hand I kept it at the end, that would be great!”

The support from her teammates proved crucial: “During the stage, I just heard that Demi [Vollering] sprinted up the hills to try to keep it. That was really nice of her. But after that, I didn’t hear much [information on the radio].”

Lorena Wiebes’s (SD Worx-Protime) successful defense of the green jersey testified to her determination to compete beyond her specialty of flat stages. Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime) ended the day and the Tour in the Green Jersey, whilst Elise Chabbey (FDJ-Suez) confirmed her victory in the polka dot jersey as the best of the climbers.

“I’m really just so happy to take this Green Jersey! We needed to survive these hard two last stages and we did pretty good, so I’m really happy,” she said.

“I think this is finally a Tour de France without bad luck. The first edition I crashed out and the second edition I got sick and last year it was also not our best Tour. So finally everything fell in to place and I’m very grateful for the team that they gave me the chance to go for it. For sure it would be nice to have one more time the yellow jersey on the shoulders, but for sure next year it will be not possible. Anyway probably I have some years left in the peloton.”

Nienke Vinke’s (Team Picnic PostNL) successful defense of the white jersey provided another feel-good story. The White Jersey was won by Nienke Vinke (Team Picnic PostNL) and the Teams classification honours went to FDJ-Suez. The Dutch rider’s consistent performance throughout the nine days demonstrated that stage racing success often belongs not to the most spectacular riders, but to those who can perform day after day.

“It’s always special to win a jersey in a Grand Tour and especially in the Tour de France, so I’m happy with it,” Vinke said. “It was a really hard battle throughout the race with Julie Bego, but I think after yesterday I had quite a big gap. [How have you trained for this?] Just hard work and dedication to cycling. I’m just happy that all the training and hard work finished off in the jersey. [Can you win the Yellow Jersey one day?] That’s the dream, but we will see!”

Perhaps no rider better embodied the spirit of the 2025 Tour de France Femmes than Maëva Squiban (UAE Team ADQ). Her two stage victories, multiple combativity awards, and overall exuberance provided a perfect encapsulation of what makes cycling such a compelling sport. “I really didn’t expect that,” she said, reflecting on her transformation from hopeful participant to one of the race’s biggest stars.

“It was a really great Tour for me and for the team, with Dominika [Włodarczyk] finishing 4th overall. It went really well. There was just the first stage where we struggled a bit. But I think we managed to rectify that afterward. We were also unlucky at the beginning with a lot of sick riders. Then the podium finish in Poitiers gave us confidence for the rest of the week. I wasn’t expecting that. I think it’s going to be hard to top that now! I was already super happy to have won my combativeness prize in Brittany. I thought my Tour was already a success. After the two stage wins, two other combativeness prizes, and the super-combative one, honestly, it’s super cool, I’m very happy!”

Epilogue

As the dust settled in Châtel and the riders began transitioning from competitors back to ordinary mortals, the 2025 Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift could be measured not just in kilometers covered or stages won, but in the stories it produced. Pauline Ferrand-Prévot’s (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) commanding victory, Maëva Squiban’s (UAE Team ADQ) breakthrough performances, Mavi Garcia’s (Liv AlUla Jayco) veteran triumph, and Lorena Wiebes’s (SD Worx-Protime) sprinting dominance collectively painted a picture of a sport in vibrant health.

The yellow jersey belonged to Ferrand-Prévot, but the true victory belonged to nine days of racing that reminded everyone why the Tour de France remains cycling’s greatest stage.

---

 

FINAL RESULTS

General Classification (Yellow Jersey)
Pos	Rider	Team	Time
1	Pauline Ferrand-Prévot	Team Visma – Lease a Bike	29:54:24
2	Demi Vollering	FDJ – SUEZ	+3:42
3	Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney	CANYON//SRAM zondacrypto	+4:09
4	Dominika Włodarczyk	UAE Team ADQ	+5:45
5	Niamh Fisher-Black	Lidl – Trek	+6:25
6	Sarah Gigante	AG Insurance – Soudal Team	+6:40
7	Juliette Labous	FDJ – SUEZ	+9:13
8	Cédrine Kerbaol	EF Education-Oatly	+13:43
9	Pauliena Rooijakkers	Fenix-Deceuninck	+13:59
10	Évita Muzic	FDJ – SUEZ	+15:50
Points Classification (Green Jersey)
Pos	Rider	Team	Points
1	Lorena Wiebes	Team SD Worx – Protime	230
2	Marianne Vos	Team Visma – Lease a Bike	178
3	Demi Vollering	FDJ – SUEZ	147
4	Kimberley Le Court-Pienaar	AG Insurance – Soudal Team	133
5	Anna van der Breggen	Team SD Worx – Protime	118
6	Pauline Ferrand-Prévot	Team Visma – Lease a Bike	114
7	Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney	CANYON//SRAM zondacrypto	110
8	Franziska Koch	Team Picnic PostNL	97
9	Maëva Squiban	UAE Team ADQ	72
10	Elise Chabbey	FDJ – SUEZ	72
Mountains Classification (Polka Dot Jersey)
Pos	Rider	Team	Points
1	Elise Chabbey	FDJ – SUEZ	44
2	Demi Vollering	FDJ – SUEZ	36
3	Maëva Squiban	UAE Team ADQ	36
4	Pauline Ferrand-Prévot	Team Visma – Lease a Bike	33
5	Anna van der Breggen	Team SD Worx – Protime	29
6	Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney	CANYON//SRAM zondacrypto	19
7	Niamh Fisher-Black	Lidl – Trek	19
8	Sarah Gigante	AG Insurance – Soudal Team	18
9	Silke Smulders	Liv AlUla Jayco	17
10	Yara Kastelijn	Fenix-Deceuninck	12
Best Young Rider (White Jersey)
Pos	Rider	Team	Time
1	Nienke Vinke	Team Picnic PostNL	30:31:41
2	Titia Ryo	Arkéa – B&B Hotels Women	+14:51
3	Julie Bego	Cofidis Women Team	+19:16
4	Marion Bunel	Team Visma – Lease a Bike	+29:11
5	Francesca Barale	Team Picnic PostNL	+50:03
6	Clémence Latimier	Arkéa – B&B Hotels Women	+1:06:21
7	Millie Couzens	Fenix-Deceuninck	+1:32:07
8	Imogen Wolff	Team Visma – Lease a Bike	+1:34:10
9	Kiara Lylyk	Winspace Orange Seal	+1:53:40
10	Flora Perkins	Fenix-Deceuninck	+2:04:59
Teams Classification
Pos	Team	Time
1	FDJ – SUEZ	90:12:03
2	AG Insurance – Soudal Team	+35:53
3	Team Visma – Lease a Bike	+43:44
4	CANYON//SRAM zondacrypto	+54:19
5	Lidl – Trek	+56:18
6	Fenix-Deceuninck	+1:07:54
7	UAE Team ADQ	+1:43:07
8	Liv AlUla Jayco	+1:47:29
9	EF Education-Oatly	+1:53:30
10	Human Powered Health	+2:01:42

Stage Winners

• • Stage 1: Marianne Vos (Team Visma | Lease a Bike)
  • Stage 2: Mavi Garcia (Liv AlUla Jayco)
  • Stage 3: Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime)
  • Stage 4: Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime)
  • Stage 5: Kim Le Court-Pienaar (AG Insurance-Soudal Team)
  • Stage 6: Maëva Squiban (UAE Team ADQ)
  • Stage 7: Maëva Squiban (UAE Team ADQ)
  • Stage 8: Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (Team Visma | Lease a Bike)
  • Stage 9: Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (Team Visma | Lease a Bike)