"They attack from kilometer 0 - it's incredible" - Jan Ullrich blown away by the exciting 2025 Tour de France Femmes

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.

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.