Pauline Ferrand-Prévot Aims to Defend Tour Femmes Title but Must Improve Time Trialing

A year after her impressive victory in the Tour de France Femmes, Pauline Ferrand-Prévot is determined to return to the eight-day race. The defending champion has never doubted making an attempt to extend her yellow jersey reign.

Especially now that the route for the 2026 Tour de France Femmes has been unveiled by ASO. Three things stand out: unlike last year, there is an individual time trial of 21 kilometers included in the course, the absolute decisive factor will be Mont Ventoux, and the finale will take place in the southern city of Nice.

“It’s a beautiful route. It’s going to be stunning,” says the Frenchwoman. “I’m already eager to work hard to defend my title. Finishing in Nice is fantastic. It means a lot to me because I live in that region. I know the roads there very well – that’s an advantage. Mont Ventoux is also a climb I’ve done many times. It’s quite easy for me to train there and get to know the climb even better.”

Ferrand-Prévot is also looking forward to the time trial. “I love it, especially in this region. I know the area well, and riding through the vineyards is fantastic. I’m really happy with that stage and ready to work hard on the time trial. It’s an opportunity to ride a different bike and develop a new discipline, which I really enjoy,” the defending champion said.

Progress in the time trial
At her team Visma | Lease a Bike, manager Rutger Tijssen is equally optimistic. “It’s a complete Tour, and that’s the challenge. Regarding the route, there’s not much that dramatically differs from last year. It’s actually never flat, not even in the first stages. There is one ultimate test at Mont Ventoux, which will create the big gaps. It’s comparable to this year’s Col de la Madeleine.”

“The time trial is back, which is a great challenge and requires a slightly different preparation than last year. We have to take a step forward here, especially with Pauline. It’s well trainable, and Pauline has shown that she can make huge progress once she sets her mind to it,” concludes Tijssen.