From Ferrand-Prévot to Niewiadoma: What Vollering’s rivals are saying ahead of the Tour de France Femmes

Although it's only the fourth edition, the Tour de France Femmes is already a well-established event in women's cycling. After overall victories for Annemiek van Vleuten (2022), Demi Vollering (2023), and Kasia Niewiadoma (2024), we are looking for a new winner for the 2025 edition. Starting on Saturday, July 26, we will race from Brittany to the French Alps, with Vollering as the winner of the Vuelta and Elisa Longo Borghini as the winner of the Giro d'Italia as the two favorites. Who will challenge them? IDLProCycling.com provides you with all the information you need.

"The yellow jersey will always remain the yellow jersey. As some people say, you’re only as good as your last race – I guess the 2024 victory will stay with me forever but I don’t feel like I’m accomplished for my career. Seeing Longo Borghini defending her pink jersey [at the Giro d’Italia Women] definitely gave me extra motivation and faith to be like ‘we can do it as well’. So, I just want to let my legs talk once we race, because of course, before you can have millions of different scenarios. Once the race starts, then the reality hits. So, I do hope that the hard work that we put into the preparation will pay off.“

”I’m feeling at ease that I’ve already won this race and don’t feel like I’m desperate, but I truly just want to defend it. I want to get another yellow jersey and enjoy the moment again, but yeah I’m not like obsessed. I’m coming to this race not focusing on others. I get asked all the time about the other riders but I really don’t care about them. I do care about my own performance and that of my teammates, so for the upcoming race, all I want to do is make sure that each of us feel perfectly prepared, not only physically but also mentally – just ready for the yellow jersey fight."

Source: CANYON//SRAM zondacrypto

"I had a very good training period there and was able to take the final steps towards the Tour. It was nice to be able to do that together with my teammates. We supported each other and brought out the best in each other. It's nice to see how much energy and ambition there is in the other riders."

"I am very much looking forward to racing in front of a French audience. Of course we want to get the most out of it, but for me this Tour is above all an important moment to discover what it is like to ride a stage race of this level. This step fits into a long-term plan in which I want to gain experience and grow. Every stage is an opportunity to learn and grow in the bigger plan we have in mind as a team."

Source: Visma | Lease a Bike

“We are heading to the Tour de France with a lot of ambition and confidence. As everyone could see in the last couple of months, we’ve grown and have had some outstanding results, and we want to continue doing so here. Kim will be our rider for the general classification, but we will take it day by day and see how far we can get. She doesn’t have the experience of going for the overall, but it’s a nice challenge we’re all looking forward to.”

Source: AG Insurance-Soudal

"Our Tour goals are more ambitious than ever: we want to be on the GC podium with Cédrine. This squad has trained together, raced together, and lived together, and in doing so have built a deep commitment to one another and to our goals."

"This squad is physically strong, mentally resilient, and tactically savvy. They’ve really come together over the season, particularly with their most recent training camp. They believe in themselves and they believe in each other. Now we just need the race to get underway.”

Source: EF Education-Oatly