'I don't really see myself doing the same again' - Pauline Ferrand-Prévot toasts Tour de France Femmes victory, but might not return to the race

Frenchwoman says weight loss was 'not 100% healthy' after sealing childhood dream

Pauline Ferrand-Prévot wearing the yellow jersey
(Image credit: Getty Images)

When Pauline Ferrand-Prévot was a little girl, she told her mother she wished she was a boy. She wanted to race the Tour de France, she said. But with no women’s version of the event, she knew it wasn’t possible. Her dream, she figured, was already was over.

Now, aged 33, that same girl has not only ridden the Tour – she’s won it. On her race debut, after a six-year hiatus from road racing, the Olympic mountain bike champion earned back-to-back stage wins on the final weekend, securing the yellow jersey with a convincing margin of more than three and a half minutes.

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Tom Davidson
Senior News and Features Writer

Tom joined Cycling Weekly as a news and features writer in the summer of 2022, having previously contributed as a freelancer. He is fluent in French and Spanish, and holds a master's degree in International Journalism. Since 2020, he has been the host of The TT Podcast, offering race analysis and rider interviews.

An enthusiastic cyclist himself, Tom likes it most when the road goes uphill, and actively seeks out double-figure gradients on his rides. His best result is 28th in a hill-climb competition, albeit out of 40 entrants.

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