"It might look a bit upright, but this is the fastest" - Pauline Ferrand-Prévot forced to chase Tour de France Femmes win after disaster time trial
CyclingTuesday, 04 August 2026 at 19:06
The time trial at the Tour de France Femmes was known to be a key day for the overall classification contenders. Despite the months of preparation, defending champion Pauline Ferrand-Prévot struggled and has lost minutes to her direct rivals over a short distance, raising doubts over her ability to conquer a second consecutive yellow jersey.
An upright position that raised questions
Ferrand-Prévot has not looked as sharp as the likes of Demi Vollering and Katarzyna Niewiadoma over the opening days of the Tour de France Femmes, but hadn't lost time over the opening three stages of the race. On stage 4, the riders faced a 21-kilometer time trial in Dijon where time gaps were expected.
With time trial World Champion Marlen Reusser aiming for the overall win, the pressure was on for every rider to limit the losses as much as possible. Out of those contesting for the overall win, the most badly affected by today's stage was none other than defending champion Pauline Ferrand-Prévot.
Her position on the bike caught the attention of many, and led to questions on social media. There were worries from early on and at the finish they were justified: Ferrand-Prévot was only 34th across the finish line, losing 2:13 minutes to Marlen Reusser but perhaps more importantly a whole 1:55 minutes to her main rival Demi Vollering.
“The team showed me a few things, but I did my best. There is nothing I can do about it now. Tonight we will see exactly how big the gaps are and make a plan,” Ferrand-Prévot said in a post-race interview with Wielerflits.
The position on the bike was something the Frenchwoman was directly asked about, but he assures that it was not viable to have had a more efficient position into the Tour.
“We took everything into account regarding my femoral artery. The wind tunnel also showed that this was the fastest position. It might look a bit upright, but this is the fastest".
Pauline Ferrand-Prévot's bike position in the time trial raised a lot of questions
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Ferrand-Prévot forced to chase yellow jersey
But the time trial creates a new race dynamics, in which the Team Visma | Lease a Bike is very far off the race lead, and not even the brutal ascent of the Mont Ventoux may be enough for her to recover that time.
That is, of course, if she has the same legs as 12 months ago, where she dominated the ascent to the Col de la Madeleine. With Demi Vollering and Marlen Reusser showing an incredibly high level, it puts the veteran in a position she didn't expect it.
“I had no idea. I prepared as well as possible for the time trial. We’ll see. It is also good not to be the favorite anymore. Now I have to chase, and I love that," she says however.
With Marianne Vos and Femke de Vries showing good legs over the past few days, Visma will have to change plans and build new tactics to try and turn the race in their favour. “I have confidence in the team, the preparation, and my teammates. We are going to make a plan after showering and eating".
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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- TdF femmes is more exciting to watch than hommes, which thanks to Pogi had became all too predictable.cgmethod04-08-2026
- Come to think of it, if it’s so effective, for my next race I may just buy some really strong hair gel to apply to my chest hair.Mistermaumau04-08-2026
- The Italian stallion cannot stop winning. Stage 21 of the Giro, then the Italian championships, then two stages of the TdP... I think he looks brilliant in that jersey
Rafionain-Glas04-08-2026 - They have been long term team building for 6-7 years, the team are a joke.
Senna196004-08-2026 - (does cutd read comments here to create new content?) Obviously. They want more views, so content that is more popular is clearly what they lean into to do that.Rafionain-Glas04-08-2026
- Mou, it is truly admirable how you manage to make every conversation an exercise in patience - yours and everyone else’s.anonymouscyclist04-08-2026
- Tadej is not (still) the potential G.O.A.T. ... Stop stuttering... He is THE G.O.A.T. - The Greatest Of All Time.PogiSloFans04-08-2026
- Hey Jumpyjohn, this is how he should do it: Pogi says "This year I want to do the Giro again, I just love this race and the Italians." He does the Giro, wins, and then goes to the Tour. He talks nothing about the Vuelta, if asked he says "No, I'm not doing the Vuelta, I will focus on the WC." After winning the Tour he never mentions the Vuelta. Pogi and his trainer see if Pogi is feeling good and strong, if he still has good legs, then they decide. If they think he can do it... LET'S GO, POGI IS DOING THE VUELTA. OMG!!! Pogi will say "I love the Spaniards!!!" Everyone is going crazy. But if Pogi isn't feeling the best, no one says anything, he just won't go, skip the Vuelta, prepare for the WC and win it. It's a win-win situation.PogiSloFans04-08-2026
- When it comes to winning a Giro d'Italia, Tour de France and Vuelta a Espana, Maurizio Fondriest is sending a warning to Pogačar!?!? First of all, who is Fondriest to send "warnings"? Pogi doesn't know or care about him. Pogi and his trainers will be the ones to decide if he will take on all three GT's in one season. No one knows what will happen because it's never been tried before. I have the feeling that many former BS cyclists and commentators are smarter then Pogi and his team of cycling specialists.PogiSloFans04-08-2026
- You're wrong, it's not too late. This is how it's done: Pogi says "This year I want to do the Giro again, I just love this race." He does the Giro, wins, and then goes to the Tour. He talks nothing about the Vuelta, if asked he says "No, I'm not doing the Vuelta, I will focus on the WC." After winning the Tour he never mentions the Vuelta. Pogi and his trainer see if Pogi is feeling good and strong, if he still has good legs, then they decide. If they think he can do it, LET'S GO, POGI IS DOING THE VUELTA. OMG!!! Everyone is going crazy. But if Pogi isn't feeling the best, no one says anything, he just won't go, skip the Vuelta and once again win the WC. Capish?PogiSloFans04-08-2026
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