Follow IDL Pro Cycling on Google
Stay up to date with the best cycling news by making us a preferred source on Google.
Follow us on GoogleAt Visma | Lease a Bike, all eyes during this Tour de France Femmes are naturally focused on Pauline Ferrand-Prévot. Even before the women’s Tour had started, however, it was already clear that the Dutch team had several other cards it could play. One of those is Femke de Vries, who could take on a particularly dangerous tactical role during the race this week.
ADVERTISEMENT
De Vries is not going to win the Tour de France, and everyone at Visma | Lease a Bike is well aware of that. Nevertheless, the 32-year-old has made extraordinary progress since suddenly stepping up from the Continental circuit to one of the leading Women’s WorldTour teams midway through 2024. Her performances during the 2026 season have provided further confirmation of how far she has come in such a short period.
De Vries finished third at the UAE Tour at the beginning of the year, placed sixth at the Giro d’Italia Women and then claimed her first professional—and WorldTour—victory in Stage 1 of the Tour de Suisse. She also finished fifth in the general classification in Switzerland. Ahead of the Tour de France Femmes, however, De Vries was rarely mentioned as a major part of Visma’s plan around Ferrand-Prévot. That changed during the team’s pre-race media session.
Continue reading below the photo
Femke de Vries won Stage 1 in Switzerland.
Ferrand-Prévot praises Femke de Vries as a teammate
“Femke has taken such a big step forward, which was really good to see during the Giro and the Tour de Suisse,” Ferrand-Prévot said, full of praise for her teammate and close friend. “She is going to be a very important support rider—and hopefully she doesn’t drop me,” the Frenchwoman joked, knowing exactly how strong De Vries can be. “She is ready and motivated to perform well.”
De Vries is not Visma’s only alternative card, because the team also has Marion Bunel waiting in the wings. The 21-year-old Frenchwoman finished third overall at La Vuelta Femenina earlier this year. “We have a strong team. That motivates me even more to do my best,” Ferrand-Prévot said. “I am the leader and I will have to prove myself, especially now that the rest of the team is performing at such a high level.”
Continue reading below the photo
Pauline Ferrant-Prévot
Visma | Lease a Bike can play the De Vries and Bunel cards
Team manager Rutger Tijssen was also highly complimentary about De Vries during that same media session. “Femke is a unique talent. She is extremely dedicated and very intelligent. She has only been doing this for a few years, so she is still very fresh. She might be slightly older, but as an athlete she is still very young. That also explains her development and the big steps she continues to make. Everything we add to her programme immediately provides another stimulus.”
“Femke’s role will primarily be to stay around Pauline, but she will also be too dangerous for the other teams to simply let her ride away,” Tijssen predicted. “When necessary, we can play that card. We have two or three riders who could potentially achieve a good general-classification result.” The opening stage on Saturday immediately showed that Tijssen’s assessment had been correct.
When De Vries attempted to attack during stage one, Demi Vollering herself immediately moved onto her wheel. “A group went clear and, had it remained out front, we probably would have had to chase it down,” the FDJ-SUEZ leader explained to NOS. Vollering knew that the general-classification contenders could not afford to give De Vries that freedom. “I didn’t want that, so I simply closed the gap myself.”
Bram van der PloegEditor-in-chief
Bram van der Ploeg (35) is the proud founder of In de Leiderstrui, IDL Pro Cycling's parent site, launched in 2018. Finally, he could create stories about the sport he had followed since childhood. He is the editor-in-chief on paper, but prefers to be with his recorder next to a rider, a team bus, or in the mud at a cyclocross race. Every year, from February to the end of May, Bram follows the entire Italian cycling season, from the Trofeo Laigueglia to the Giro d'Italia, with the grand finale in October in Lombardy. During that time, he lives in Tuscany, where he has since come to call Italy his 'home'.
IDL-productions
Glasgow set to shine as World Cup demand outstrips expectations and Mason eyes first home cyclocross race
Pogačar, Vingegaard and Van Aert went faster again in 2026... except when they didn't
Team GB dominate, China on the rise, Lavreysen the best ever? Five takeaways from the 2026 Track World Championships
Track World Championships day 2: A golden day for Team GB, Levreysen goes 2 for 2, and Kopecky eliminates the competition
Rumours, speculation and guesswork: 2027 Tour de France route will be revealed live on October 22 in Paris
Latest Cycling News
Bruyneel sees Visma as an excellent home for Seixas: 'Vingegaard is not going to win the Tour'
Glasgow set to shine as World Cup demand outstrips expectations and Mason eyes first home cyclocross race
EF Education part ways with Charly Wegelius after 15 years, days after bringing back Matt White
Álvarez told Pedersen he wouldn't win a Monument without him during Lidl-Trek team night out: 'Really cocky'
Former Giro winner Tom Dumoulin records a blistering time at the New York Marathon
Popular Cycling News
Former Giro winner Tom Dumoulin records a blistering time at the New York Marathon
Tadej Pogačar on Mathieu van der Poel and Tom Boonen, but also kiwi/pineapple, visualisation and the Gravel World Championships
Modern Adventure just keeps growing: Hincapie's team strengthen 2027 roster with 4 great signings
Disgruntled Sjklemose could be best suited rider for Tour de France 2027 at Lidl-Trek: 'That doesn’t sit well'
Greg LeMond accuses Lance Armstrong of paying the UCI : 'Very bitter taste in my mouth'
Latest Comments
- I’m still figuring out cyclocross: do the riders use the same bikes for the grass, sand and mud, or change them during the race?jeremya02-11-2026
- £50 seems a bit steep for a day out, though I suppose it’s a major event and the demand is clearly there. Do family tickets make it much more affordable?tourdeforce902-11-2026
- Fifteen thousand is a serious crowd for a World Cup round. Glasgow could be a huge moment for British ‘cross if Mason can get near the podium again.jennifer1902-11-2026
- Those junior races are a great addition — it gives young riders a proper spotlight before the elites take over. Hope the course makes the most of the park rather than just being a muddy spectator scrum!samanthak02-11-2026
- Fantastic to see cyclocross getting this kind of response in Scotland. A packed Kelvingrove Park should make for a brilliant atmosphere, especially with Mason racing on home roads.raceready702-11-2026
- No explanation after 15 years feels a bit thin. The budget pressure may be unrelated, but it’s hard not to wonder if all these changes are connected.samanthak02-11-2026
- I’m still learning how team directors work—does the head sports director decide race tactics, or is that mainly down to the riders and the person in the team car?velodromevirtuoso102-11-2026
- A proper changing of the guard at EF, especially with Carapaz going too. Hope they don’t lose the team identity in the reshuffle.cadencekingm02-11-2026
- White coming back just before Wegelius leaves makes the timing look significant, even if EF haven’t said there’s a connection. Interested to see who gets the head DS role.raceready702-11-2026
- Fifteen years is a huge stint in modern cycling. Wegelius’ knowledge of EF and its riders will be hard to replace.robert6502-11-2026