"There are still many races that I have not won": the biggest star of French cycling is far from finished

After achieving one of the most spectacular victories of her career at 33 years old, Pauline Ferrand-Prévot has made it clear that her conquest of the Tour de France Femmes 2025 is not the end point of her career in road cycling. In statements following her triumph in Châtel, the Frenchwoman showed her ambition for the future and pointed directly to major spring Classics as her next objectives.

Pauline Ferrand-Prévot doesn't stop

Ferrand-Prévot's triumph in the Tour was forged on the legendary Col de la Madeleine, where she launched a devastating offensive that allowed her to reach the final day with over two and a half minutes of advantage. In the final stage, with the finish in Châtel, she once again prevailed with a new solo attack to close the race with two consecutive stage victories and the yellow jersey on her shoulders.

"I didn't know whether to attack or not," she explained. "This morning we talked with the sports director about the tactics, because I said, 'Maybe it would also be nice to win dressed in yellow.' On the last climb, he said to me, 'You decide if you want to attack or not.' I wasn't sure, because I wanted to enjoy the last kilometers of the Tour with the yellow jersey. But when Demi attacked, I reacted and simply counterattacked because I said, 'I have to do something, because I haven't done much all day, just followed wheels.'

"After my attack, I told myself, 'Okay, now there's no turning back, I can only give it my all until the finish line.' So I didn't enjoy the last kilometers much, but it was worth it afterwards."

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The day was not without surprises for the Olympic MTB champion, who was left behind in the first descent of the day towards Sallanches. "It was a crazy race. From the start it was full gas and I made a small mistake in the first descent," she recounted. "I was too far back and someone left a gap, so I ended up in the second group. I had to ask all my teammates to wait for me to get back to the front. I felt very embarrassed."

But after achieving a new milestone in her sports career, few thought she could achieve something like this just a year after returning to road cycling, Pauline is already thinking about her next objectives.

At 33 years old and with a career full of successes in road, cyclocross, and MTB, Ferrand-Prévot does not plan to slow down her ambition. With this victory, she now has 15 professional road wins, including La Flèche Wallonne and Paris-Roubaix, and now aims for other goals.

"I would like to win the Tour of Flanders, I would like to win Liège-Bastogne-Liège, for example, those kinds of races," she confessed.

Regarding a possible defense of the title in the Tour, she admitted some doubts: "Right now, since the preparation for the Tour has been so tough, I can't imagine doing the same thing again. Maybe it's because I'm tired and need a little break, but I still have two years left on my contract and I still enjoy what I do, so I want to continue, because it's my life, you know?"

"I really like what I'm doing with this team. So we will surely find many objectives and I will try to win all the races I can."

After this undeniable victory in the Tour, surely no one dares to doubt that Pauline can win any race she sets her mind to.