Women's Tour de France pits France's Ferrand-Prévot against history

France's star cyclist Pauline Ferrand-Prévot will set off on Saturday as one of the favourites for the 2026 Women's Tour de France. The 34-year-old will also be seeking a slice of cycling history. No rider has retained the crown since the competition started in 2022. Issued on: 01/08/2026 - 09:29 3 min Reading time "Starting the Tour de France as the defending champion is something very special and something I'm incredibly proud of," said the Team Visma-Lease a Bike cyclist. “At the same time, last year's victory doesn't guarantee anything this time around. Everyone starts from scratch again.” The 147 riders in the 21 teams will begin the race with a 137km burst around the Swiss city of Lausanne. On Sunday, they travel 149km between Aigle and Geneva and cross over into France on the third day during a 167km-ride between Geneva and Poligny. Surge to 2025 glory Ferrand-Prévot’s surge to glory came during the penultimate stage of the 2025 women's Tour de France in which she seized the overall lead following a sensational course between Chambéry Saint-François Longchamp and Col de la Madeleine in south-eastern France. She followed that up with victory in the final stage between Praz-sur-Arly and Châtel to become the first French woman to win the race. In her effort to keep hold of one of the most prestigious titles on the international circuit, she has notched up second and third place at the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix respectively. There was also a 35th-place finish at the Vuelta Femenina in May in Spain. "My goal, since the beginning, is to be able to be 100 percent for the Tour de France, so I never really had in mind to win other races," she said. 'Tour de France battleground' "I know that I need a specific preparation to be able to win races, so I just pick my battle, and I choose the Tour de France as the battle.” Demi Vollering, the 2023 winner, will be in the thick of the action to divest Ferrand-Prevot of her crown. The 29-year-old Dutchwoman has been in scintillating form for the French based-team FDJ United-Suez. In June, after claiming the Giro d’Italia Women, she joined Annemiek van Vleuten as the only riders to win all three major women's stage races in Italy, France and Spain. There have also been victories in this season's classics such as La Flèche Wallonne Feminine and Tour of Flanders Women. Niewiadoma wins Women's Tour de France by just four seconds In last year’s Tour de France, Ferrand-Prévot came to prominence during the climb of the Col de la Madeleine. This year’s key moment in the mountains will arrive during Friday’s seventh stage with a first visit by the Tour de France Femmes to Mont Ventoux – an area bringing fond memories to Vollering. In an interview with the British newspaper The Guardian, she said she used to holiday in the region. “That’s where I really found out I was a pretty good climber because against all the other girls I trained with, I was always the first at the top. And the coaches who came with us – I left them all behind too. I could see that my level was pretty good. “Mentally too, I was able to suffer, maybe more than average people on that mountain. I saw that riding uphill was my strength and suited me as the type of athlete I am. The Ventoux inspired me a lot.” Le Court Pienaar regains lead of women's Tour de France after winning stage 5 Vollering goes into the race three months after extending her contract at FDJ United-Suez until the end of the 2028 season. “Demi is an extraordinary athlete at the peak of her game,” said FDJ United-Suez general manager Stephen Delcourt. “She inspires her teammates, she inspires the fans, she inspires a generation of young girls and boys who see themselves in her way of being and living her sport, as much as in her performances. She doesn’t just win races: she shows the way.” The Swiss rider Marlen Reusser, 2026 Vuelta winner Paula Blasi and the 2024 Tour de France champion Katarzyna Niewiadoma-Phinney are also expected to challenge during a nine-stage race covering nearly 1,200km. "This is the toughest women's Tour so far," said race director Marion Rousse. ”We've made it a little harder because the peloton is stronger. It's a clever route. Every stage has a potential trap."