Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, winner of the queen stage and new yellow jersey of the Tour de France, the art of the right moment

In the winding paths of the Col de la Madeleine (Savoie), the mountain pastures unfold their deep green as far as the eye can see, dotted with fir trees and mountain flowers. Pauline Ferrand-Prévot rises up there, calm and conquering, in the heart of this postcard setting. Beneath her helmet, her braided blond hair frames an impassive face: her gaze, fixed and determined, does not blink. The Visma-Lease a Bike rider gives nothing to show, except a disarming serenity, a contained strength.

The 33-year-old Frenchwoman soloed to victory on Saturday, August 2, in the ^8th stage of the 2025 Tour de France Femmes. "It's a childhood dream come true ," said the Olympic cross-country mountain bike champion in Paris 2024. "It was an incredible last kilometer. I tried to enjoy it, I wanted to cross the finish line as quickly as possible." With one day left until the end of the Tour, in Châtel (Haute-Savoie) on Sunday, Pauline Ferrand-Prévot takes on the yellow jersey. In the general classification, the rider, who is making her debut on the Tour de France this year, is ahead of the Australian Sarah Gigante (AG Insurance-Soudal Team), by 2 minutes 37 seconds, and the Dutchwoman Demi Vollering (FDJ-Suez) by 3 minutes 18 seconds. A small mountain.

You have 78.81% of this article left to read. The rest is reserved for subscribers.