Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift Stage 9 RECAP - Pauline Ferrand-Prevot makes history, winning final stage and general classification

Pauline Ferrand-Prevot showed her mettle to win Stage 9 on a relentless day of climbing from Praz-sur-Arly to Chatel to claim overall victory at the 2025 Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift.  

Ferrand-Prevot becomes the first Frenchwoman to win the revamped Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift since its relaunch in 2021. The last winner of the women’s Tour came in 1989 when Jeannie Longo won the Tour de France Feminin. The wait goes on on the men’s side, with Bernard Hinault the last to triumph 40 years ago in 1985.

The 33-year-old French rider wasn't even born the last time such a feat was achieved, and this win felt like a particularly seismic moment in not just women's cycling, but the sport as a whole.

In the lead up to the race, she hadn't raced for more than 10 weeks following the injury that forced her to abandon the Vuelta. Instead, she took to altitude to prepare for what would go on to become one of the biggest races of her life.

Earlier in the year, she won Paris-Roubaix on her first attempt, in a ride that she claimed to be her training for the Tour. She is now the first person to win the Hell of the North and the Tour in the same year.

Ferrand-Prevot had built a 2'37" advantage in the general classification over Sarah Gigante (AG Insurance - Soudal Team) following Saturday’s queen stage and was the subject of multiple early attacks, but showed the nous of a 15-time world champion to fend those off, bide her time and then add the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift to her palmares.

An elite group that contained Ferrand-Prevot, Demi Vollering (FDJ-SUEZ) and Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney (Canyon–SRAM zondacrypto) were left to battle it out for the stage win after Team SD Worx-Protime's Anna van der Breggen's ambitious solo bid was reeled in with 32km to go.

And Ferrand-Prevot made her move with 6.5km to go to come out on top of the lead group following an uphill drag to the finish line in Chatel to win Stage 9.

Read more:

1. Nienke Vinke (Picnic PostNL) 30h 31'41"

2. Titia Ryo (Arkéa - B&B Hotels) + 14'51"

3. Julie Bego (Cofidis Women) + 19'16"

4. Marion Bunel (Visma-Lease a Bike) +29'11"

5. Francesca Barale (Picnic PostNL) +50'03"

6. Clemence Latimier (Arkéa - B&B Hotels) +1:06'21"

7. Millie Couzens (Fenix-Deceuninck) +1:32'07"

8. Imogen Wolff (Visma-Lease a Bike) +1:34'10"

9. Kiara Lylyk (Winspace Orange Seal) +1:53'40"

10. Flora Perkins (Fenix-Deceuninck) +2:04'59"

1. Chabbey 44pts

2. Vollering 36pts

3. Squiban 36pts

4. Ferrand-Prevot 33pts

5. Van der Breggen 29pts

6. Niewiadoma-Phinney 19pts

7. Fisher-Black 19pts

8. Gigante 18pts

9. Smulders 17pts

10. Kastelijn 12pts

1. Wiebes 230pts

2. Vos 178pts

3. Vollering 147pts

4. Le Court 133pts

5. Van der Breggen 118pts

6. Ferrand-Prevot 114pts

7. Niewiadoma-Phinney 110pts

8. Koch 97pts

9. Squiban 72pts

10. Chabbey 72pts

1. Ferrand-Prevot 29h 54' 24''

2. Vollering +3'42"

3. Niewiadoma-Phinney, +4'09"

4. Wlodarczyk +5'45"

5. Fisher-Black +6'25"

6. Gigante +6'40"

7. Labous +9'13"

8. Kerbaol +3'43"

9. Rooijakkers + 13'59"

10. Muzic +15'50"

Here's the final stage top 10:

2023 champion Vollering takes second place, Niewiadoma-Phinney third, which feels really fitting to have the previous champions up there with this historic moment.

HISTORY. MADE. 

She returned to the road with this dream in mind, and she wanted to achieve it within three years. She’s done it at the first time of asking, and with two stage wins to her name!

Ferrand-Prevot becomes the first-ever French winner of the Tour de France Femmes aves Zwift, and the first French winner of the men’s or women’s Tours since Jeannie Longo, who’s here today to witness this, in 1989, and Bernard Hinault for the men in 1985. She’s also the first person - male or female - to win Paris-Roubaix and the Tour in the same year.

The 33-year-old wasn’t even born the last time a French rider won the Tour, and now, she’s written her own name into the history books. In the year that has been the biggest yet for the women’s Tour, the comeback rider has come to the fore to provide a historic result.

Her palmares includes 15 world titles across four disciplines and Paris 2024 Olympic gold on the mountain bike - but something about this win seems parti seismic. 

As a young child, she told her mother she wished she was a boy so she could race in the Tour de France, as this sort of platform didn’t exist in women’s cycling, and now, she’s won the Tour de France Femmes. It really is the stuff of dreams. She’s wearing the famed number 51, and she’s well and truly lived up to it. 

Chapeau, Pauline. 

Wow, wow, wow. What a truly incredible moment.

I can barely type, this is magnificent.

She's nearly there!

She ups the pressure but doesn't separate from the other two riders - looking like she'll be second on GC though with this ride. 16" for Ferrand-Prevot now!

She's got a 12" gap, and only Vollering, Niewiadoma-Phinney, and Fisher-Black remain chasing.

11" is the gap now!

It's a clear gap for Ferrand-Prevot, I've got goosebumps!

She's creating a gap!! Fisher-Black tries to stick with her. She sprung from the back of the group following an attack from Vollering!

The French rider is putting in a big effort, but the yellow jersey is on her wheel. One more stage win, Pauline?

Something big is coming from this group...

Gigante is 2'49" behind, Van der Breggen 5'15", Kerbaol's group 7'19".

The stage win is up for grabs. A reminder of those in this front group:

Gigante is now 3'06" behind, Van der Breggen 4'25".