Pauline Ferrand-Prévot breaks silence after Tour de France Femmes withdrawal: 'I have no regrets'

The contrast with 2025 could hardly be greater for Pauline Ferrand-Prévot and Visma | Lease a Bike after the Tour de France Femmes. Twelve months ago, the Frenchwoman stood on the final podium in the yellow jersey after winning the race, but this time she had to watch from home as Demi Vollering celebrated in yellow in Nice. Ferrand-Prévot has now spoken publicly about what happened and reflected on a Tour that ended far earlier than she had hoped.

The leader of the Dutch team did not start Saturday's eighth stage after becoming ill the previous evening. She explained the decision afterwards: "I had to abandon the race because I became ill on Friday evening. It was a difficult decision because I had really been looking forward to racing on my training roads, but making choices is part of life, and they are rarely easy." Her withdrawal brought a premature end to a Tour in which she had been unable to reproduce the form that carried her to overall victory in 2025.

Ferrand-Prévot then addressed her supporters through social media. "I'm grateful for all your support along the road. You can't imagine how much it means to me," she said. The defending champion acknowledged that she never reached the level she had hoped for during this year's race, but refused to look back with regret. "I have no regrets because I gave my best every single day."

"The preparation was extremely intense, but my level during the race was nowhere near good enough to play a role in this Tour. Hats off to everyone who produced such a high level in the peloton," Ferrand-Prévot added as she paid tribute to her rivals. Rather than allowing the disappointment to define her season, the Frenchwoman is already looking ahead: "You all make me a better athlete, and I'll come back stronger next year and try again 💛"

Team manager Rutger Tijssen also reflected on Visma | Lease a Bike's Tour after the final stage. "We came here with one big goal and unfortunately we weren't able to achieve it. That's a real shame, but it's great to see other riders step up when the main goal is no longer within reach, and to see the progress being made by several riders." The team nevertheless finished the race with some encouragement, including a strong eighth-place finish for Femke de Vries in the final stage around Nice.

Tijssen therefore shares the broader conclusion of his team leader and says a full review will follow once Ferrand-Prévot has recovered. "In the coming period, once Pauline is back to full fitness, we will evaluate our Tour de France Femmes campaign. That is, of course, part of the process. We will look at what we did and what we could have done better, and ultimately take those lessons with us into the remainder of the season and next year."