"My ultimate goal is to compete for Tour de France Femmes victory" - Pauline Ferrand-Prévot remains ambitious ahead of the season start
Cycling
Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, the reigning Olympic mountain bike champion, is set to return to road cycling in 2025. The 32-year-old French cyclist, who became road world champion in 2014, hopes to relive those glory days in the colours of Visma | Lease a Bike. The goal is no less than a victory at the Tour de France Femmes!
It's not a new environment for Ferrand-Prévot either as she had raced in the jersey of Rabobank, the predecessor of Visma | Lease a Bike, between 2012 and 2016. In her return, she'll reunite with at least one familiar face - Marianne Vos. "Those were the best five years of my career," she said enthusiastically in a team press release. "I raced with Marianne back then, someone I deeply respect. She’s not only an amazing rider but also a wonderful person."
Ferrand-Prévot’s long-term ambitions know no end, although she is well-aware that she'll first need to take many smaller steps. "My ultimate goal is to compete for victory in the Tour de France Femmes over the next three years," she states confidently. "But I’ll need some time to settle in, so for now, realism is my guiding principle. In 2025, I mainly want to learn and identify areas for improvement. The most important thing is to give it our all and be able to say we left nothing on the table."
In addition to the Tour de France Femmes, she’s also targeting key classics like Strade Bianche. "My first major personal goal will be Strade Bianche. I think it’s a beautiful race, and the course suits me well. I love challenges, and I want to win races and create great memories with the team, alongside riders like Marianne."
Although Ferrand-Prévot already feels at home in her new team, she recognizes that the true test will come during the races. "We haven’t started racing yet, so some bumps in the road will inevitably appear. Everything feels perfect now, but that might change once the season officially begins. Losing is part of the process, and that’s how you learn," she concluded honestly.
Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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- many people advise him to grow slowly and rather do giro and/or vuelta instead of tdf. but i can totally understand that he is not satisfied with taking over once pogi declines, but instead beat him in his prime. so if he goes for tdf again, i‘m all for it. let‘s hope that pogi recovers soon!Ketterechts07-11-2026
- So gracious to offer something no-one would be prepared to pay for. The Giro is not the Tour and doesn’t command the same interest or attract the same “elite” (those willing to pay to be a part of something they consider has ego boosting potential). Roadside viewing will always largely remain free for everyone outside circuits. Introduction of a symbolic entrance to mountain climbs is worthy of exploration. Asking 1-2€ isn’t going to repulse real fans (most will spend 50-100€ on their outing that day all things included) but will prevent a portion of the total knobhead thrillseekers who will join in any large gathering as long as it’s free, just because they’re attracted to crowds, without which it it difficult for them to work up their anti-social behaviour.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
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- But on what is that opinion based? Are you holding him to a different standard than others? Are you saying he should do learn to like something he doesn’t Are you saying he hasn’t achieved enough Are you saying he pretends to be better than his results? It’s actually a really strange opinion to oust if you consider it objectively or rationally. Try applying it to others or yourself by asking if not EVERYONE should then be doing more? Nobody in athletics or swimming gets criticism for not expanding their repertoire when a rival or someone else does. In fact, most who move to another event get accused of running from their rival. Opinions are boring, the reasons behind them are what count.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- for a medical chief to throw things like is just bad. There are already radios which were banned for spectacle. allow radios. Gps trackers are not a complete solutionabstractengineer07-11-2026
- any rider less than 25 whether they are really ready for the position of leadership of GT is probably not the case. I think Pogi himself suffered when he was defeated by Jonas in the TDF twice. But that would be the team's job to ensure support so that they can bounce back. It requires a team and time to get back up and win after getting knocked down.abstractengineer07-11-2026
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