Title: GC Favorites Preview for the 2025 Tour de France Femmes
The 2025 Tour de France Femmes concluded on August 3, with French rider Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (Visma–Lease a Bike) winning the overall title by more than three and a half minutes. The race, covering 1,165 km across nine days of racing, saw a series of exciting performances and significant withdrawals.
Ferrand-Prévot, known for her aggressive mountain riding, dominated the two key mountain stages in the French Alps. She secured her victory with a decisive win on the Col de la Madeleine on stage 8 and a solo victory on the final stage 9 finishing in Châtel. This marked the first time a French rider has won the Tour de France Femmes since 1989 in the women's race and 1985 in the men's race.
Key contenders included Demi Vollering (FDJ–Suez), the 2023 winner, who finished second overall, about three minutes behind Ferrand-Prévot. Katarzyna Niewiadoma-Phinney (Canyon–SRAM zondacrypto), the defending champion, placed third. Vollering and Niewiadoma-Phinney were consistently strong, but Ferrand-Prévot's mountain performances set her apart in the decisive stages.
Other notable performances were Lorena Wiebes (Team SD Worx–Protime), winner of the green jersey for points classification, Elise Chabbey (FDJ–Suez), winner of the polka-dot jersey as Queen of the Mountains, Nienke Vinke (Team Picnic–PostNL), winner of the white jersey for best young rider under 23, and Maëva Squiban (UAE Team ADQ), who earned the combativity award after winning stages 6 and 7. FDJ–Suez also won the team classification.
Throughout the race, there were significant withdrawals including Olympic champion Kristen Faulkner (EF Education-Oatly), affected by illness and crashes. A notable stage 5 win was by Kim Le Court-Pienaar (AG Insurance-Soudal Team), who also emerged as a key contender during the earlier part of the race.
In the lead-up to the race, Juliette Labous had been identified as a podium hopeful for the 2025 edition, having finished fourth, fifth, and ninth overall at the previous three editions of the Tour de France Femmes. However, Labous was not among the top contenders this year.
Notable returnees included Anna van der Breggen, who won the road race at the Olympics in 2016, three world titles in the road race in 2018 and then in the time trial and road race in 2020. Van der Breggen returned to road racing in 2025, three years after retiring. With Kopecky no longer aiming for the general classification, Van der Breggen was thrust back into the limelight as the sole GC leader for SD Worx-Protime.
Marion Bunel, who departed St Michel-Mavic-Auber93, jumped up to the WorldTour with Visma-Lease a Bike in 2025, where she could play a leadership role at the Tour de France Femmes.
The route for the 2025 Tour de France Femmes was praised for being balanced, with two major favourites, Marlen Reusser and Elisa Longo Borghini, forced to abandon the race due to health issues. The route did not include a time trial but had opportunities for every type of rider, especially with the first four stages classified as either hilly or flat.
The climbers and GC contenders left in the race came out to play for the five stages, with key climbs over the Col de Madeleine, Col de Joux Plane, and a finale mountaintop finale at Châtel.
In summary, the race was marked by Ferrand-Prévot’s commanding mountain performances and consistent efforts from Vollering and Niewiadoma, making for an exciting and historic edition of the Tour de France Femmes.
Cyclocross and mountain biking are sports that Ferrand-Prévot excels in, demonstrated by her aggressive mountain riding in the 2025 Tour de France Femmes, where she dominated the two key mountain stages and secured her victory. On the other hand, the route for the 2025 Tour de France Femmes, although balanced for different types of riders, forced two major climbers, Marlen Reusser and Elisa Longo Borghini, to abandon the race due to health issues.
