CyclingUpToDate Awards: Pauline Ferrand-Prévot voted Women’s Rider of the Year after history-making season

Pauline Ferrand-Prévot has been voted CyclingUpToDate’s Women’s Rider of the Year for 2025, taking a commanding victory in the public poll after one of the most significant comeback seasons modern women’s cycling has ever seen.

The Team Visma | Lease a Bike star collected 96 of 234 votes (41%), well clear of runner-up Lorena Wiebes (49 votes, 21%) and third-placed Demi Vollering (43 votes, 18%). It was a decisive result for a rider whose 2025 campaign blended history, emotion, and sheer performance excellence in equal measure.

After years spent balancing road and off-road ambitions, Ferrand-Prevot’s full-time return to the road yielded instant, spectacular rewards. Her Paris–Roubaix Femmes victory — taken solo over the cobbles — was the season’s first headline, but it was her Tour de France Femmes triumph that made history, as she became the first Frenchwoman to win the modern edition of the race.

Those landmark results carried symbolic weight far beyond the results sheet. They restored a home champion to the Tour podium and confirmed Ferrand-Prevot’s remarkable ability to redefine her career across disciplines. For many fans, her campaign represented the perfect blend of national pride and world-class performance — a story that resonated powerfully in the vote.

Behind Ferrand-Prevot, the sprinting juggernaut Lorena Wiebes earned strong support with 21% of the vote after a phenomenal 25-win season that included the return of Milano–Sanremo Women and points jerseys at both Grand Tours. Demi Vollering, meanwhile, took third after another characteristically consistent year highlighted by Strade Bianche, La Vuelta Femenina, and the European road race title, finishing 2025 as the world’s top-ranked rider.

Elsewhere, Marlen Reusser (30 votes) was recognised for finally claiming her long-awaited time-trial rainbow jersey, Maeva Squiban (9 votes) for her fearless attacking rides at the Tour, and Elisa Longo Borghini (7 votes) for retaining her Giro dItalia Women crown in dominant style.

Ferrand-Prevot’s return to road racing not only reshaped the narrative of 2025 but also underscored the depth and dynamism of the current women’s peloton. Her double of cobbled and Grand Tour triumphs captured a sporting nation’s imagination and cemented her as one of the defining figures of the era.

As the End-of-Year Awards continue, the fans have made their verdict clear: 2025 belonged to Pauline Ferrand-Prevot — a champion reborn at the very top of the sport.