Gigante makes huge move in Tour shake up
But Australian rider Sarah Gigante surged into second place, 2 minutes, 37 seconds behind, on a day of big changes in the leading positions.
The 2023 champion, Demi Vollering of the Netherlands, is 3:18 adrift heading into Sunday's last stage.
Overnight leader Kimberley Le Court Pienaar - Gigante's AG Insurance-Soudal teammmate - crashed on the descent from the Col du Frene with 63km remaining, briefly trailing the peloton by about a minute.
She rejoined but the effort and the relentless climbing cost her dear in the general classification as she dropped to 11th place.
Last year's event had the smallest winning margin in the history of the women's and men's races, but Ferrand-Prevot - who won the mountain bike gold medal at last year's Paris Olympics - looks like winning far more comfortably, despite Gigante's efforts.
The Frenchwoman trailed Le Court by 26 seconds heading into stage eight from Chambery to Saint-François-Longchamp, which took the riders on a 112km trek into the mountains.
It featured an early climb of 13km up Col de Plainpalais before finishing with a tortuous ascent of 18.6km to Col de Madeleine, one of the most famed climbs in cycling.
Gigante went on the offensive with 12 km to go and only Ferrand-Prevot of the GC favourites was able to stay with her on the climb.
The Olympic champion then attacked at the start of the final 9km and Gigante was unable to keep up with her.
The Frenchwoman hit the front 7km from the summit and powered to a superb victory.
Gigante crossed the line 1:45 behind her, while Niamh Fisher-Black rolled in 2:15 behind in third spot. Vollering was fourth.
The 24-year-old Melburnian had joked on Friday night, at the end of the seventh stage, that some of the big names had "missed a couple of opportunities" to shake her off.
"They could have got rid of me yesterday, maybe Kim today. We'll see what happens, but from our point of view, hopefully they live to regret it."
Those words have proved prophetic and she has a podium finish in her sights.
Sunday's ninth and final stage from Praz-sur-Arly to Chatel is another mountainous route, with three big climbs, and is even longer at 124km.
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