Ferrand-prévot’s Tour Win Ignites All Of France In A Joy Missing From The Men’s Race

It took a agelong clip to find a transcript of L’Equipe connected Monday morning. France’s flagship regular sports newspaper, emblazoned pinch an image of a yellow-clad Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, arms outstretched and triumphant, pinch nan banner header Geante, had almost sold out.

Ferrand-Prévot, nan first French rider to triumph nan Tour de France Femmes, has go a nationalist icon almost overnight. After her Paris 2024 gold-medal capacity successful upland biking and this spring’s triumph successful Paris-Roubaix, Ferrand-Prévot fever has taken over. Cycling’s slumbering elephantine has yet awoken.

As a small girl, Ferrand-Prévot asked her mother why it was that she couldn’t title successful nan Tour de France. “But it’s a men’s race,” came nan response. “I wish I was a boy,” nan nine-year-old Pauline said.

The French person waited a agelong clip to spot 1 of their ain successful nan yellowish jersey – 36 years successful women’s racing and 40 successful men’s – and endured decades of humiliation positive an ingrained consciousness of inferiority, usually to aggregate overseas champions, immoderate of them doped.

During that time, location person been different misfiring women’s tours of France, but nary of them comparison pinch nan value and standard of nan modern Tour de France Femmes, which Christian Prudhomme, title head of nan men’s Tour and initially sceptical of nan women’s race, now sees arsenic adjacent successful stature.

For archivists, nan past French rider successful yellowish was Jeannie Longo, who won nan Tour de France Féminin successful 1989, though that title did not comparison pinch nan investment, trouble and world value of nan modern Tour Femmes.

Justifiably, Ferrand-Prévot has been depicted arsenic nan successor to Bernard Hinault, nan past French victor of nan men’s Tour. The celebratory televised telephone telephone from President Macron, wrong minutes of her triumph successful Chatel, is grounds of that.

Ferrand-Prévot’s Olympic golden came while she was sponsored by Ineos Grenadiers, but their reluctance to put further successful women’s racing led to her off-season move to nan Visma Lease-a-bike team, and a vow to triumph nan Tour wrong 3 years. Jim Ratcliffe’s nonaccomplishment has go nan Dutch sponsor’s gain.

For nan French, this was balanced to England men’s long-awaited location Ashes triumph successful 2005, aliases Andy Murray’s breakthrough British Wimbledon triumph successful 2013. The 33-year-old whitethorn good person uncorked caller ambition wrong nan big nation, and not conscionable successful women’s racing.

Compare Tadej Pogacar’s muted celebrations aft winning his 4th Tour de France a week agone successful Paris pinch nan statement vibe successful Chatel precocious connected Sunday evening and nan differences betwixt nan men’s and women’s Tour are acold greater than conscionable of gender.

In stark contrast, location is an openness, joyousness and state of look to nan Tour de France Femmes that puts nan monastic and secretive world of its occasionally lumbering antheral counterpart to shame.

Pauline Ferrand-Prévot celebrates arsenic she crosses nan decorativeness statement to triumph nan last shape and nan race. Photograph: Jean-Christophe Bott/EPA

Ferrand-Prévot came to nan Tour Femmes parchment thin, compared to nan rider who powered to triumph complete nan cobbles of Paris-Roubaix successful April. The melodramatic weight nonaccomplishment enhanced her powerfulness to weight ratio, but it doesn’t look bully and she has readily acknowledged it.

“I don’t want to enactment for illustration this, because I cognize it’s not 100% healthy,” she said connected Sunday evening, “but we besides had a bully scheme pinch nan nutritionist successful nan squad and everything is successful control.

“I didn’t do thing extreme, and I still had powerfulness near aft 9 days of racing. It’s a tricky subject, because you person to find nan limit. I besides cognize that I can’t enactment for illustration this forever. It’s nan prime I made.”

The already thin Demi Vollering, 2nd wide successful Chatel, an jock who has openly talked astir teenage intelligence wellness and menstrual cycles, besides faced questions connected whether she would now activity to suffer weight to go much competitive.

“I could suffer weight too, but I don’t want to beryllium highly thin,” she said. “I’m proud of my weight and want to group a bully example. I dream that successful nan early I tin triumph again and show girls that you don’t person to beryllium ace skinny, but that you tin besides triumph pinch difficult activity and power.

“I cognize that galore others struggle pinch this, truthful I dream that young girls don’t deliberation they person to beryllium ace skinny to thrust successful nan mountains.”

Kasia Niewiadoma, nan outgoing champion, highlighted nan fast-track improvement successful expertise wrong nan women’s peloton and said that her ain level was “definitely higher” than that of a twelvemonth ago.

“This is nan maturation of women’s cycling,” Niewiadoma said aft finishing third. “I deliberation that nan teams are stronger. You tin spot that a batch of teams person grown successful extent – they person really beardown riders who tin thief their leaders.”

Of course, nan Tour Femmes is not perfect. As nan unit to execute grows on pinch nan rewards, it will inevitably create immoderate of nan aforesaid ethical issues that face men’s racing. But, correct now, it is refreshing, joyous, melodramatic and exciting, pinch a increasing roster of accomplished athletes.

“Watch The Femmes” opportunity nan caps tossed to nan crowds from nan publicity caravan. “We don’t request nan men immoderate much to exist,” said nan title head Marion Rousse earlier this summertime aft announcing nan move to stand-alone dates for nan Femmes successful 2026. Rousse is right. Maybe we person been watching nan incorrect title each along.