"Absolutely nothing about her says time-trial specialist" - How much could Pauline Ferrand-Prévot have actually saved at the Tour de France Femmes?
CyclingWednesday, 05 August 2026 at 14:56
The time trial at the Tour de France Femmes stage has, thus far, been the most important stage of the race. There is potential that the challenge against the clock might decide the outcome of the race as defending champion Pauline Ferrand-Prévot had a notably difficult day and lost around two minutes to her main rivals in the space of only 21 kilometers.
An incredible time trial position for the defending champion
“When you know that the last time she rode a time trial was five years ago, when she finished fifth at the French championships, and then you see how she is sitting on the bike — like a little old lady,” Dutch pundit Thijs Zonneveld said on the In de Waaier podcast.
There was an evident struggle from early on, with a major time loss beginning right from the start. It was a loss of around 6 seconds per kilometer to stage winner Marlen Reusser and it was notable that the Team Visma | Lease a Bike rider had a position on the bike that looked far from ideal.
“She was very high at the front, with her helmet sitting slightly crooked on her head... They did their best to limit the damage, but absolutely nothing about her says time-trial specialist.”
Ferrand-Prévot argued it was the best position that could be worked with; something that potentially is affected by her past issues with the iliac arteries - something she underwent surgery on in recent years. The lack of capacity to be in an extremely aerodynamical position is specially costly in the time trials where the speeds are the highest and there is no coverage from other riders.
“When she goes too deep, the problem is that she cannot properly transfer her power because of those iliac arteries. That is always a potential danger, but it is even more of an issue for her because of that injury.”
Pauline Ferrand-Prévot's struggles at the Tour de France Femmes time trial was notable
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2 minutes might be enough for Vollering to hold off Ferrand-Prévot
Ferrand-Prévot lost 2:13 minutes to Marlen Reusser and 1:55 to Demi Volering. These time gaps are massive and although the route provides the opportunity to take time back, the Frenchwoman may struggle to do that even if she finds her best legs, as she faces world-class competition.
“I also don’t find it particularly surprising. In my mind, she performed roughly as expected," Jip van den Bos argued. "Losing two minutes to Reusser does not strike me as especially strange. You are comparing the best female time trialist in the world with someone who had not ridden a time trial for five years.”
However the loss to Vollering, second over the past two editions and winner of the recent Giro Donne, may prove to be deadly for the French veteran.
“She also knows that this was necessary if she wanted to win the Tour. If Ferrand-Prévot climbs as well as she did last year, Vollering needed to take that one minute and 55 seconds in the time trial ahead of Mont Ventoux".
But van den Bos doubts that even on the Géant de Provence, such a gap can be nullified by a peak form Ferrand-Prévot. "And was Vollering really so much worse a year ago that she has now been able to close that three-minute gap? She wasn’t that bad last year either. She is extremely good now, but I don’t believe the difference between them is three minutes.”
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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