"They attack from kilometer 0 - it's incredible" - Jan Ullrich blown away by the exciting 2025 Tour de France Femmes
Cycling
There was nothing like Tour de France Femmes in the era of Jan Ullrich. Looking back, the German would be probably support a sentiment that it's a shame. But that makes the racing now all the more enjoyable. As for the 2025 edition won by Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, Ullrich could find nothing but superlatives to describe the race.
"There's extremely good sport on offer, and the atmosphere is outstanding," said the 1997 Tour winner in his podcast "Ulle & Rick."
"I have complete respect for the riders' achievements. They sacrifice all their free time and spend a lot of time in altitude training camps. And then they ride the stages at an average speed of 45 km/h – and without a tailwind. They attack from kilometer 0. It's incredible," said Ullrich, highlighting the attackive style of racing.
This year's edition was "very exciting, very demanding, and increasingly difficult towards the end." Pauline Ferrand-Prévot also produced a deserving winner. "She was the strongest rider, especially on the climbs in the last two stages. It was obviously a celebration for France; the Grand Nation celebrated, and rightly so," said the 51-year-old.
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His podcast partner Rick Zabel, who was present at two stages, praised the "cool concept of having the women race directly after the men."
In his view, the atmosphere at the race has been absolutely electrifying. "The women's Tour is a super cool event, the fans love it. There's not much difference anymore between the men's and women's tour," said Zabel.
What makes the women's event even more charming is that "the girls are pretty relaxed, while the men are very focused on their business. For the men, everything is cordoned off in the finish area, while for the women's Tour, you can get right up to the team buses, and the riders are in a chatty mood and in a great mood," Zabel revealed.
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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- To Twoje przemyślenia te bla, bla :)
Dariusz08-11-2026 - Uwielbiam patrzeć, jak wyjeżdża na czoło peletonu i zaczyna się rzeź...Dariusz08-11-2026
- Yeah, unreal.
parisbound0008-11-2026 - there needs to be space in life for pointless comments!Ketterechts08-11-2026
- That is a very lazy way of putting it but so far on this website it seems like everyone is happy to look at everything lazily, even things that annoy them intensely. All they want to do is state their feeling and position but ask most to analyse a problem or come up with solutions or improvements and you’re stunned by silence. Nobody even really knows how this all happens. It’s very simple and quick to just say the UCI did it but I bet you they didn’t, I bet you not more than 2 people were involved, more likely just 1. The UCI may be ultimately responsible but it is not their decision, this is about hierarchy, power and delegation. The fact that protest is possible also means it isn’t over and that MORE people could get involved for a thorough review which could throw up anything. It is highly likely it was a sole commissar who decided and has that power in a first round. Therein might lie the problem the UCI has to consider, is it acceptable to give so much authority to one single person when it is quite possible for them to have a natural bias or be too easily susceptible to imposed bias. Who is to say an individual in this position isn’t susceptible to collaboration with outside players with interests in the results, nations, families, teams, betting companies, etc. On the one hand we have sports where these problems have been worked on way more to reduce such problems, on the other hand we have sports with far stricter and more draconian rules not even concerning safety or obstruction that nobody really questions like false starts or stepping out of lane or zones in athletics. If cycling hastowork on itself, it would be good if protagonists (all kinds) would start doing a little more than just moaning over outcomes.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- Yes, so why not make comments less pointless?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
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Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026 - There really was nothing in it. Schreiber was so much faster, and Brand was fighting to stay in the wheel in the sprint. Schreiber did move a bit, but to say she closed the door doesn't make sense because Brand couldn't enter it anyway, abd she wasn't impeded.Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026
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- Thibau Nys does exactly what Iserbyt is calling forRafionain-Glas08-11-2026
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