Pauline Ferrand-Prévot wins Tour de France Femmes, becoming first French rider to win event since 1989
Not since Bernard Hinault last won the men's Tour de France in 1985 and Jeannie Longo won the women's edition in 1989 has a French cyclist taken home the yellow jersey, a long, long wait for a nation whose summers have been entwined with the race for more than a century.
After retiring from a successful mountain bike career in which she became the Olympic champion in Paris, Ferrand-Prévot returned to the road this season with the explicit goal of winning the Tour de France Femmes within three years. In the end, she only needed one.
She sealed her win with victory in the final stage of the race, crossing the line resplendent in the yellow jersey and overcome by the emotion of ending France's long wait for a home champion of its iconic race.
In the general classification, she finished three minutes and 42 seconds ahead of 2023 winner Demi Vollering in second and four minutes and nine seconds ahead of defending champion Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney.
Ferrand-Prévot rode into the yellow jersey on the penultimate stage, simply riding away from her rivals on the decisive climb of this year's race – the mighty, 18.6 km long Col de la Madeleine on Stage 8 – and crossed the line having gained more than three minutes on Niewiadoma-Phinney and Vollering.
Instead of these former winners, Ferrand-Prévot's closest challenge that day came from Sarah Gigante who attacked early on the Col de la Madeleine. Gigante was caught and passed by the Frenchwoman but limited her losses to finish second, one minute and 45 seconds back.
That ride left Ferrand-Prévot with a two-and-a-half minute lead over Gigante in the overall classification with just one stage left to race. Gigante was dropped on the final stage and lost her podium spot.
But even with such a big lead, that last stage was not straightforward for Ferrand-Prévot. She fell behind her rivals on the valley roads before the first climb of the day, forcing her team to chase and protect her overall lead. But she recovered to launch a solo attack with six kilometers still to race and cross the line alone.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
14 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Barrow add Championship forward - League Two transfer round-up
Barrow have signed experienced striker Tom Barkhuizen as a new frontman, among many big signings going on around League Two. The season has begun, but with just under a month to go in the transfer window, clubs have been busy making sure that their squads keep improving. Arguably the most notable player to enter the league is 32-year-old winger Barkhuizen, who has had an extensive career in the Championship with Preston North End and Derby County. Andy Whing's new man played 19 times in the second tier just last season, but has now headed to Barrow to add further firepower to their team. Ellis Harrison has joined Bristol Rovers as another attacking option after a disappointing year with MK Dons and Walsall. They have also picked up Swiss forward Fabrizio Cavegn for an undisclosed fee from FC Vaduz. Louis Appere swapped Northampton Town for Cambridge United as another striking option for Neil Harris after he gave up on getting Harry Smith. The U's also signed Shane McLoughlin from Newport County. Another striker on the move has been Jake Bickerstaff, who once scored against Michael Flynn's Swindon Town for Wrexham, but has now joined him at Cheltenham Town on loan from the Red Dragons. Cheltenham had a slow start to the window, but have also added Jokubas Mazionis on loan from Ipswich Town and James Wilson from Bristol Rovers. Former Swindon midfielder Ronan Darcy has joined one of the title favourites in Chesterfield, on loan from Wigan Athletic. Darcy only joined Wigan in January, but failed to make much of an impact with one goal in the second half of the season and will now look to get The Spireites promoted, as he helped Crawley Town do two years ago. Their main rivals, according to the bookmakers, Milton Keynes Dons have picked up 30-year-old right back Callum Paterson after he left Sheffield Wednesday. Notts County have been busy in the loan market, adding central midfielder Tyrese Hall from Tottenham Hotspur and Jayden Luker from Luton Town, as well as Keanen Bennetts on a permanent deal. Newport County have also been active, bringing in right-back Liam Shephard from Salford City and Swansea City youngster Ben Lloyd on loan. Elsewhere, Walsall have signed Lewis Warrington and Jake Hollman, Josh Powell has headed to Colchester United on loan, Accrington Stanley loaned Joe Bauress from Burnley, Gillingham added Lenni Cirino, and Barnet signed goalkeeper Joe Wright.
Yahoo
14 minutes ago
- Yahoo
‘One of the coldest, ever': Boston's Derrick White reflects on Rockets star Kevin Durant
Veteran guard Derrick White has long been known as a good NBA defender, and he got to know Houston Rockets star Kevin Durant well during their recent time with Team USA. Last summer, that United States national team won the men's basketball gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics. On a new episode of his White Noise Podcast, the Boston Celtics star reflected on his time playing alongside the big names on that squad (which also included Steph Curry and LeBron James), and he had this to say about Durant: Olympic KD is so cold. I told people — imagine running as fast as you can, jumping as high as you can, reaching as high as possible, and not being close to the ball. That's every KD jumper. I've always wanted to block his shot — never have. I told him, 'You're one of the coldest, ever.' In close games, we'd just give KD the ball up top — whatever shot he wants. Durant is listed at 6-foot-10, but it's long been speculated that he's actually taller than that. Whatever the case, he's perhaps the best shooter in NBA history among players that tall, and that makes him a difficult cover for even the world's best defenders. Over his last five NBA seasons, Durant has averaged 27.9 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 5.2 assists per game on extremely efficient shooting percentages of 53.1% overall and 41.5% on 3-pointers. He turns 37 years old in late September, but at least to this point, he's not showing any signs of slowing down. More: Alperen Sengun expects Kevin Durant to 'open up the game' for Rockets This article originally appeared on Rockets Wire: 'One of the coldest, ever': Derrick White on Rockets star Kevin Durant
Yahoo
14 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Steve Tandy: There's no magic wand or quick fix – but I believe in Welsh talent
New head coach Steve Tandy says Wales must show ambition to restore national pride after sliding down the world order. Tonmawr-born Tandy, a former Ospreys player and coach, has ended a six-year stay as Scotland defence coach to return home to Wales. Tandy becomes the first Welshman to coach the national side since 2007, at a time when Wales have slipped to 12th in the world rankings and had lost 17 successive matches before beating Japan last month in the final game of Matt Sherratt's interim reign. 'The privilege and the honour to be head coach of your national country is massive,' Tandy said. 'Being in the changing rooms is even better. I've got huge pride as a sense of family and what a great rugby nation it is. 'So, it's a feeling of absolute pride and an honour.' Wales were 2019 World Cup semi-finalists under Warren Gatland and Wayne Pivac's side won the 2021 Six Nations Championship. But Pivac's reign quickly unravelled and Gatland's return – the Kiwi had overseen a glorious chapter between 2007 and 2019 – produced no upturn in fortunes, with his departure coming during the 2025 Six Nations in February. The Welsh Rugby Union has stated it wants to see Wales in the top five in the world by 2029. But is that a realistic target given the problems facing the Welsh game at a time when four regions could be cut to two and the talent pool is shallow compared to rival nations? Tandy said: 'I believe in the talent we have in Wales, to get us to where we want to go. 'There's not going to be a magic wand or a quick fix and then it all changes, but I do believe in the pathway. 'Ultimately you want to have ambition. We want to have ambition to meet those targets, but ultimately there's a process to get to that as well. 'We have to build performances incrementally. From campaign to campaign we have to be better and looking at how we can build that performance through the exciting group we've got.' Tandy won the Pro12 competition in six years at Ospreys but left the Welsh region in 2018. He worked for NSW Waratahs in Australia before moving to Scotland, while Gatland made him defence coach on the British and Irish Lions' 2021 tour of South Africa. 'The one thing that has really driven me from the start is I want to be the best person and the best coach I can possibly be,' Tandy said. 'Did I ever think I'd be a Lions coach? No. Did I ever think I'd coach the Waratahs? No. 'But I think it's surprising what happens when you have the mindset to be better and to understand as well you have got blind spots and you have got things to work on.' Tandy takes up his role on September 1 and will prepare for autumn home games against Argentina, Japan, New Zealand and South Africa. He will shape his backroom team along with WRU performance director Dave Reddin, saying there is a 'blank canvas' after Gethin Jenkins (defence), Danny Wilson (forwards), Adam Jones (scrum), Rhys Thomas (assistant forwards coach) and Leigh Halfpenny (kicking) assisted Sherratt in Japan.
